Who We Are

Girl Effect (GE) is an international non-profit that builds media that girls want, trust and need. From chatbots to chat shows and TV dramas to technology, 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. We use technology and media 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.

Background

South Africa continues to experience extremely high levels of gender-based violence (GBV), particularly against adolescent girls and young women. Despite significant investment by government and civil society, responses remain fragmented, with limited coordination between prevention initiatives, service providers and community actors.

Girl Effect South Africa’s strategy, Jik’izinto 2.0, addresses this fragmentation by positioning the organisation as a systems orchestrator within the GBV ecosystem. Rather than implementing isolated interventions, Girl Effect convenes, aligns and amplifies existing actors, linking community-based organisations (CBOs), service providers, digital platforms, media and government institutions into a coordinated response.

Central to this approach is the establishment of physical, youth-centred safe spaces that function as local ecosystem anchors, connecting girls and young women to services across four core domains:

• Gender-Based Violence prevention and response (GBV)
• Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)
• Mental Health and Wellbeing (MHWB)
• Economic Empowerment (EE)

The safe-space model integrates physical infrastructure, community programming and digital engagement platforms, including the Big Sis chatbot and the wider Jik’izinto media ecosystem.

Objective

Girl Effect South Africa is seeking an experienced Consultant Project Manager to provide hands-on project management, implementation oversight and partnership coordination for Jik’izinto 2.0 during a critical phase of delivery.

This is not intended to be a purely advisory assignment. The successful consultant will be expected to work closely with the Country Director, Girl Effect teams, CBO partners, community stakeholders, government representatives and other service providers to ensure that agreed activities are translated into effective delivery on the ground.

The consultant will combine strong project management disciplines including planning, budgeting, reporting, risk management and partner coordination with practical implementation support.

The assignment therefore requires someone equally comfortable managing a project plan and budget and working directly with partners and communities to resolve delivery challenges.

What You will Do 

Project  Management & Delivery

• Drive delivery of the Jik’izinto 2.0 work plan across the contract period, ensuring milestones, quality standards and timelines are met.
• Own the Project budget forecasting, expenditure tracking and value-for-money and flagging variances early and working with Finance to keep spend on track.
• Lead work-planning, milestone tracking and risk management, working closely with the Country Director and wider team to keep delivery on track.
• Ensure the Jik’izinto 2.0 strategy, including the systems orchestrator approach and the four thematic domains, are well understood and consistently applied across the Project.
• Provide oversight in the management of CBO partners, moving between strategic oversight and practical, day-to-day delivery support as circumstances require.
• Step in to strengthen on-the-ground implementation wherever capacity gaps or delivery risks emerge without waiting for problems to escalate.
• Quality-assure Project activities against the four thematic domains (GBV, SRHR, MHWB, EE), ensuring they are safe, girl-centred and aligned to the model.
• Troubleshoot operational and delivery issues in real time, making practical decisions on the ground and escalating only what genuinely needs escalating.
• Ensure a steady, well-planned flow of activities at the safe spaces and support larger quarterly activations that attract young people to the facilities.

Partnerships & Ecosystem Orchestration

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with community gatekeepers, civil society organisations, service providers, government officials and government facilities.
• Restructure, re-contract and actively manage the existing CBO partnerships transitioning from the broader Jik’izinto Project into the Ubomi Hub model.
• Maintain an up-to-date partnership tracker and pipeline, proactively identifying opportunities for growth and gaps for intervention in target communities.
• Represent Girl Effect in relevant government and partnership engagements at local and municipal level.

This list should not be considered exhaustive; you will be expected to deliver other duties relevant and appropriate to this position.

Duration, Location & Level of Effort 

The consultancy is expected to run for 6–12 months, with the final duration to be confirmed during contracting.

The consultant will be based in Cape Town, South Africa, and should be available to provide the level of effort necessary to deliver the agreed scope and outputs throughout the consultancy period.

The assignment requires regular hands-on engagement with safe spaces, CBO partners, communities and relevant stakeholders. The consultant should therefore be willing and able to travel between project locations as required.

The consultant will manage their time and approach to delivery in coordination with the Country Director and in accordance with agreed work plans, milestones and deliverables.

Management 

The consultant will report to the Country Director, Girl Effect South Africa, who will serve as the primary contract supervisor.

The consultant will work closely with relevant Girl Effect programmes, Evidence & Insights, Finance, Operations and other technical teams as required.

The consultant will also coordinate closely with CBOs, service providers, government representatives, community stakeholders and other project partners.

All formal reports and deliverables shall be submitted in English unless otherwise agreed.

Who You Are

This role needs more than one skill set. The strongest candidates will combine solid Project management with genuine, demonstrable hands-on implementation experience and a solid social behaviour change background and understanding. 

• 5–8 years of relevant experience, including proven Project or project management within the NGO / development sector (adolescent-facing GBV, SRHR or health programming strongly preferred).
• A track record of managing projects at a strategic and budget-holding level, and separate, credible experience of hands-on, on-the-ground implementation and CBO / grassroots partner management.
• Direct experience managing community-based organisations or grassroots partners — including re-contracting, capacity support and quality assurance.
• Sound budget management and funder-reporting experience, with the ability to produce timely, accurate Project and financial reports.
• Line-management experience and strong stakeholder engagement and facilitation skills, working confidently with community leaders, NGOs and government representatives.
• Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, Development Studies, Public Health, Social Sciences or a related field (a Master’s / postgraduate qualification is an advantage).
• Excellent organisational, written and oral communication skills, with a proven ability to engage and influence diverse stakeholders.
• A genuine willingness to be hands-on, adaptable and mobile, comfortable travelling between hub sites and stepping into delivery when needed.
• Fluency in English essential; isiZulu strongly preferred, with Sesotho, isiXhosa or another South African language an advantage.

Proposal Submission

Interested consultants should submit a proposal of no more than 5 pages covering:

• Understanding & Approach: Brief understanding of the assignment and proposed approach to delivering the scope, including key priorities for the first 30–60 days.
• Relevant Experience: Summary of relevant project management, hands-on implementation, CBO/partner management and stakeholder engagement experience.
• CV: Current CV demonstrating relevant qualifications and experience.
• References: At least three contactable professional references for similar assignments.
• Financial Proposal: Proposed discounted monthly consultancy fee in ZAR, underlying daily rate and applicable taxes, quoted separately.

Proposals should clearly demonstrate how the consultant meets the requirements and evaluation criteria set out in this RFP.

Girl Effect may conduct reference checks and/or invite shortlisted consultants to an interview before final selection. 

Evaluation Criteria

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

Procurement Timelines 

• RFP Published 21st September 2026
• Proposal deadline 30th September 2026

How to Apply

Please submit proposals, as described above, to [email protected] by 30th September 2026.

Please clearly mark your email with the subject:

“Consultant Project Manager–South Africa”

Only proposals submitted through the stated application process will be considered.

General and Commercial Terms

• Contracting: The successful consultant will enter into Girl Effect's standard consultancy agreement, with payment linked to satisfactory delivery of agreed outputs.
• Taxes: Bidders are responsible for understanding and clearly stating applicable taxes. GE will deduct or account for taxes where required by law.
• Expenses: Reasonable and necessary project travel or other expenses will only be reimbursable where agreed and approved in advance by Girl Effect and will be subject to applicable Girl Effect policies and supporting-documentation requirements.
• Intellectual Property: Project-specific deliverables developed under the consultancy will be subject to the intellectual property provisions of the final agreement.
• Confidentiality & Data Protection: The successful bidder must protect GE information and comply with applicable confidentiality and data protection requirements.
• Safeguarding: The successful bidder will be expected to comply with GE's safeguarding requirements and may be subject to appropriate due diligence checks.
• Conflicts of Interest: Bidders must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could influence the delivery of services or recommendations to GE.
• Equal Opportunities: GE is committed to equal opportunity and encourages proposals from diverse organisations and professionals.
• Right to Award: GE reserves the right to seek clarifications, negotiate, amend or cancel the procurement process, reject any or all proposals, and is not liable for costs incurred in preparing a proposal.
• Proposal Validity: Proposals must remain valid for 90 days from the submission deadline.