Project Description

Advancing Girls’ Education & Skills (AGES) is a USAID-funded program that will be operating in four provinces of Pakistan. The four-year program aims to improve access to formal and informal education, engage communities to support expanded educational and employment opportunities, and collaborate with the Pakistani government to strengthen policies which support girls and young women. World Learning leads the project's consortium, which includes partner organizations CARE, Right to Play (RTP), and Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN), with additional support from universities, and innovation partners.

More specifically the project aims to:

1.    Increase access to school and skills training to help girls and young women thrive

2.    Partner with the private sector to create work opportunities for young women

3.    Engage communities to encourage girls and young women to succeed in school and the workforce

4.    Generate evidence to inform education and workforce policies that empower young women

The program seeks the involvement of the public sector, local communities, civil society and the private sector in creation of an ecosystem of support for girls to thrive at home, school, and work.

The Role of Life Skills in AGES

The AGES project seeks to cultivate in girls and young women 10 core life skills that can help them thrive: positive self-concept, goal-setting and planning, resilience and perseverance, self-care and making healthy choices, decision-making, financial literacy, communicating across age and gender, conflict management and resolution, promoting one’s rights and the rights of others, and leadership and positive influence. In addition, each component of the AGES project calls for the development of certain additional life skills, such as in the areas of higher-order thinking, employability, and entrepreneurship skills.

These life skills are being cultivated in several settings, including schools, extra-curricular activities, technical

and vocational training institutes, and through public communications campaigns. For each of these settings, the AGES project is developing life skills education materials.

The present consultancy is concerned with developing engaging life skills narratives that will primarily be used with the population of young women studying in technical and vocational institutes.

Objective of the Consultancy

The objective of this consultancy is to write the narrative and dialogue for three graphic novels, comic books, or illustrated choose-your-own adventure stories.

Each story will be based on highly structured storylines developed by World Learning and provided to the consultant, along with embedded activities intended to cultivate life skills in the reader. These storylines, in turn, are based on a thorough pre-planning workshop conducted with all project partners, which identified the core life skills needed to succeed in TVET studies, find an retain a job, and start and grow a business.

The stories must be context-appropriate and relevant for girls and young women aged 15-25, of disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds throughout Pakistan. The assignment requires the ability to follow the detailed outline provided, write with a realistic and engaging style, consistently convey certain themes and messages, and engage in multiple rounds of feedback and editing.

Consultancy Steps and Deliverables

1.    Information Gathering: During this phase the writer will work with technical team at World Learning to understand the background and research on life skills strategies that are best suitable for local context in Pakistan. This process will involve conducting of interviews with TVET graduates for writing stories based on real life situations

2.    Story Outline: Based on the information gathered, the writer will suggest any needed refinements to the story outlines provided by World Learning, including the major challenges faced by girls in TVET, in the job search, and in entrepreneurship, linking each challenge to life skills that can help in coping with these challenges, and deciding on activities to develop each life skill that can be embedded within the narrative. Final outlines will be approved by World Learning.

3.    Drafting of story narrative and dialogue: The consultant will use the three approved story outlines to draft three complete stories in English, including context-setting, description, dialogue, and activities. Each story is expected to be about 50 pages long, once illustrations and exercises have been added. The text itself will therefore be about 10-20 pages, per story.

4.    Finalization: The consultant will respond to one or more rounds of feedback from World Learning to finalize the stories.

5.  Translation: The consultant will translate the final version of each story into Urdu.

Required Qualifications & Experience

Applicants must possess the following qualifications:

•       Demonstrated expertise in creative writing

•       Experience in writing for adolescent girls’ issues

•       Understanding of soft skills and life skills

•       Excellent mastery of English. Mastery of Urdu also preferred.

Application Procedures

Applicants must submit:

1.    Cover letter and curriculum vitae

2.    3 writing samples with the applicant’s name clearly cited as the primary author

3.    Contact information for 3 past employers or clients who will attest that the applicant performs high - quality work and submits it on time according to due dates.

4.    A timeline and financial proposal, indicating how many days will be spent on each activity and the associated cost.

5.    An attestation of the dates during which the applicant will be available for the work, and the number of hours that will be dedicated to the task each week during that period.

Why World Learning

For more than 85 years, World Learning has worked to create a more peaceful, sustainable, and just world. Our education, development, and exchange programs help people find their voices, connect with their communities, and strengthen the institutions that form the backbone of a democratic society. With our support, these emerging leaders tackle critical global issues like poverty, conflict, and inequality.

As a thriving international nonprofit organization with impact in 150 countries, World Learning works across six major program areas. We’re hard at work improving global education to ensure schools and teachers have the tools they need to support students — including English language instruction through our TESOL teacher training. We encourage civic engagement in communities around the world, and we strengthen institutions so that they can best serve their constituencies. Our workforce development programs help people cultivate the hard and soft skills they need to succeed. And we offer people-to-people exchanges for people of all ages wh

seek professional and academic enrichment.

All World Learning programs are grounded in five key approaches: experiential learning, leadership development, inclusive practices, innovation, and grants management. We believe in partnering with local experts, organizations, and institutions to find solutions that will truly work for each community. Together, we create the foundations for a better tomorrow.

World Learning is a member of the  World Learning Inc. family, which also includes The Experiment in International Living and School for International Training.

World Learning is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action/veterans/ADA employer, committed to increasing the diversity of its workforce.