Background
Search for Common Ground (Search), a global nonprofit organization, has been at the forefront of conflict transformation and peacebuilding for over four decades. With a mission to end violent conflict and build safe, healthy and just societies, Search employs a people-centered approach and innovative strategies to foster collaborative action and transformational change among diverse communities in over 35 countries.
Search seeks an experienced Instructional Designer to work with our most experienced and accomplished Program leaders and Strategy and Learning Teams to develop the curriculum and comprehensive training pathway for a new leadership development experience: the Common Ground Leadership Academy.
The Academy responds to an urgent global need for transformational leaders who can inspire and mobilize collaborative action in response to the modern era's complex polycrisis. At a time of unprecedented polarization across regions and a weakening multilateral system, the Academy will equip leaders with the insights, temperament, frameworks, tools, and skills to foster collaborative action that yields transformational change. By translating the collective wisdom of some of the most accomplished conflict transformation leaders in and outside our organization into a pedagogy for leadership development, we aim to develop a generation of changemakers who can mobilize broad-based coalitions, create pathways for collective progress, and transform apparent obstacles into opportunities for systemic impact that can be sustained at scale.
Objective
To design and develop a curriculum and end-to-end training and personal growth pathway that builds a cadre of leaders capable of driving collaborative action and transformational change across lines of polarization and conflict. Initially, the Academy will serve current and emerging leaders from Search's offices in over 35 countries. In Phase Two, Search will expand the training to external leaders who seek to develop their capacity to lead transformational change in an era of increasing polarization and conflict.
Qualifications
- Search is seeking a consultant with experience designing:
- adult experiential learning pedagogy for leadership development;
- leadership development that both integrates insights from - and also markets well across - diverse cultures and contexts globally;
- pedagogy that includes both one-on-one reflection, mentorship, and personal development as well as cohorted exposure, practice, and processing of concepts, frameworks, tools and tactics with peer leaders-in-development;
-
multi-modal pedagogy that includes both in-person and virtual, synchronous and asynchronous components and that leverages a diversity of instructional content and formats, e.g. readings, case-study-processing, podcasts, videos, group exercises, etc.
Qualified applicants will apply the above experience within a process that will integrate the collective wisdom of diverse current and former frontline leaders who have driven transformational change in conflict contexts as diverse as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Liberia, DRC, Kyrgyzstan, and the United States, among other countries and regions into a world-class leadership development pedagogy.
Scope of Work
The instructional design consultant will be responsible for the following:
Leadership Development Training Needs Analysis
- Conduct interviews and focus groups with Search subject matter experts and stakeholders
- Analyze current training resources, tools, and delivery methods
- Identify key competencies and skills required for transformational leadership at different levels
Curriculum & Experience Design
- Develop a modular curriculum with introductory and basic modules covering content relevant to a wide cross-section of mid-career and emerging leaders and advanced modules relevant to emerging or aspiring leaders seeking to drive transformational social or political change.
- Define clear learning objectives, content, and assessment methods
- Design a multi-modal learning approach that integrates individual components (mentorship, reflection, personal development); cohort-based learning (peer practice sessions, group processing of concepts and case studies); and mixed delivery methods (in-person and virtual, synchronous and asynchronous activities)
- Identify user-friendly digital learning platform(s) to deliver the training that are compatible with the curriculum and accessible across devices and languages
Content Development
- Create diverse, engaging content using multiple formats (readings, case studies, multimedia, interactive exercises) and collaborative tools to enhance learning
- Create training materials such as facilitator guides, participant workbooks, slide decks, videos, etc.
- Develop corresponding assessments and certification criteria
Implementation Plan
- Outline a roadmap for phased rollout and continuous improvement of the training pathway
- Recommend strategies for marketing, enrollment, and delivery of the training programs
- Propose a monitoring and evaluation framework to measure impact and effectiveness
Knowledge Transfer
- Train Search staff on the instructional design and delivery of the training and personal growth pathway
- Provide guidance on maintaining and updating materials and experiences over time
Deliverables
- Training Needs Analysis Report
- Comprehensive Common Ground Leadership Academy Curriculum and Content
- Implementation Roadmap and Operational Plan
- Knowledge Transfer Plan and Training for Search Staff
Timeline
- The consultant is expected to complete the scope of work over a 6-month period from January 2025 to June 2025.
Application requirements
The application should include a technical and financial proposal including the following elements (maximum length, excluding CVs, at 10 pages):
Technical Proposal
- A brief outline of the approach and methodology
- A proposed work-plan and timeframe for the assignment, delineating the phases and workdays
- Identification of potential challenges and dependencies likely to affect the assignment implementation, along with proposed solutions
- Examples of relevant previous assignments that showcase the required skills and experience outlined above
- Contacts of at least three references
Financial Proposal
- The consultant shall provide a budget breakdown that outlines consultant fees and logistical expenses. The financial proposal should include all costs associated with the assignment, including applicable taxes, presented in USD.
