Communications Consultant at Population Services International (PSI)

Project Background

Delivering Innovation in Self-Care (DISC) is a five-year project funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and implemented by PSI. The project aims to generate substantial market growth and demand for self-injection of DMPA-SC (a contraceptive product) in Uganda and Nigeria through a consumer marketing campaign to change user knowledge, motivation, and skills. It applies an iterative approach: prototyping solutions, testing in the market, and refining for scale. Beyond catalyzing women’s uptake of contraceptive self-injection, the project is advancing a broader self-care agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa that will deliver more agency to individual users to influence their own health outcomes. The Self-Care Trailblazers Group (SCTG) is a multi-donor funded, consortium-style advocacy group of which PSI is a member. SCTG supports countries in bringing self-care interventions to consumers by advancing the evidence, practice, learning and policy landscape for sexual and reproductive health and rights.

DISC is currently in its start-up phase and is seeking to develop a communication and advocacy strategy and related products that will reach key global and in-country stakeholders including Ministries of Health (MOH), global health partners and programs with relevant missions, and lay audiences with strategic and technically sound information. DISC and the SCTG have complementary objectives in terms of promoting DMPA-SC self-injection and other self-care behaviors, both through directly engaging potential users and through influencing the country-level regulatory environment.

Scope of Work of Consultancy

Develop communication and advocacy strategy for DISC targeting an array of key global and country-level decision-makers including technical partners and peer organizations, as well as country government and partners, and lay audiences as appropriate.

• Ensure DISC communication and advocacy strategy aligns with larger PSI Self-Care Advocacy efforts, including Self-Care Trailblazers Group

Develop and advance the DISC project brand with DISC’s key external stakeholders, in partnership with DISC technical leadership, comprised of the DISC Technical Lead, Sr. SRH Advisor- Implementation Science & Learning, and Deputy Director (TBH)

In close collaboration with the Sr. SRH Advisor- Implementation Science & Learning:

• Develop written and audiovisual materials to communicate DISC key insights and learning throughout diagnose, decide, and design phases, establishing a project voice that is approachable, appealing, and technically grounded (see Table 1 below)
• Prepare for DISC presence at priority conferences and technical events (i.e. planning for DISC presence at the International Conference on Family Planning, 2021)

Lead on global media coverage for the project

Support capacity of DISC country teams to

• Generate appropriate local media coverage—considering media monitoring, crisis communications, and brand building for local audience. Surveys and responds to media content related to DISC and DISC topics that originates external to the project.
• Develop and prepare for the execution of country-specific advocacy strategies by the start of DISC’s implementation phase (estimated to begin January 2021).