Forus Launches €20,000 Remote Consultancy Opportunity to Develop Africa Regional Advocacy Strategy and Power Mapping Framework @Unknown

Forus, a global network of national NGO platforms and regional coalitions representing more than 24,000 civil society organizations worldwide, has announced a consultancy opportunity to support the development of an African Regional Advocacy Strategy, power mapping framework, and action plan. The consultancy will play a critical role in helping civil society organizations across Africa translate the newly adopted Forus Strategy 2026–2030 into practical regional and continental advocacy roadmaps.

The assignment offers a maximum budget of €20,000 and is scheduled to run from July 2026 through March 2027. Applications are open to qualified consultants and consultancy teams with extensive experience in civil society advocacy, regional governance, strategy development, and stakeholder engagement.

Supporting the Implementation of the Forus Strategy 2026–2030

Forus recently developed its new global strategy through a participatory process involving members from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific. The strategy is built around four key pillars:

• Connect
• Support
• Influence
• Network Health

As part of implementing this strategy, Forus is supporting its regional members in creating advocacy frameworks that reflect local realities, regional priorities, and opportunities for collective action.

In Africa, members emphasized the importance of avoiding a centralized, top-down advocacy approach. Instead, the proposed process will focus on building strategies from national and sub-regional realities before identifying common priorities at the continental level.

Consultancy Will Cover Five African Sub-Regions

The selected consultant or consultancy team will facilitate a member-led process covering five African sub-regions:

• West Africa
• Central Africa
• East Africa
• Southern Africa
• North Africa

The process will be implemented in two phases.

Phase One: Sub-Regional Advocacy Strategies

During the first phase, the consultant will support stakeholders in each sub-region to identify key advocacy priorities, influence opportunities, and collaborative actions. The outcome will be five distinct sub-regional advocacy strategies accompanied by practical action plans.

Phase Two: Continental Advocacy Vision

The second phase will focus on developing a continental advocacy vision that draws on common priorities and lessons emerging from the five sub-regional strategies. The final framework will provide guidance for engagement with continental institutions and international policy processes.

Key Responsibilities of the Consultant

The selected consultant will work closely with the Africa Regional Steering Committee and the Forus Secretariat throughout the assignment.

Major responsibilities include:

• Conducting desk reviews of relevant policy documents and member strategies
• Facilitating consultations with Forus members across Africa
• Designing bilingual engagement processes in English and French
• Undertaking power mapping exercises
• Identifying advocacy opportunities and influence pathways
• Developing regional and continental advocacy strategies
• Supporting validation workshops and stakeholder reviews
• Producing final advocacy frameworks and implementation plans

The consultant will also be expected to identify opportunities for inter-regional collaboration and propose monitoring indicators to help members track progress over time.

Focus on Power Mapping and Strategic Influence

A significant component of the consultancy involves analyzing the regional advocacy landscape and identifying institutions, stakeholders, and decision-making processes that influence development and civic space across Africa.

The power mapping process will examine engagement opportunities with institutions such as:

• African Union (AU)
• African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC)
• African Development Bank (AfDB)
• Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
• East African Community (EAC)
• Southern African Development Community (SADC)
• African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)
• African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)

The assignment will also explore advocacy opportunities related to development finance, climate justice, youth leadership, digital governance, civic space, food systems resilience, and sustainable development.

Strong Emphasis on Participation and Inclusion

Forus has highlighted that the consultancy process must remain member-led from start to finish. Rather than defining priorities on behalf of members, the consultant will facilitate structured discussions that allow participants to identify their own advocacy goals and strategic directions.

The methodology must include:

• Surveys
• Key informant interviews
• Focus group discussions
• Sub-regional consultation meetings
• Validation workshops

Particular attention will be given to ensuring meaningful participation from diverse civil society actors, including youth organizations, grassroots groups, community-based organizations, faith-based institutions, and feminist movements.

Desired Qualifications and Experience

Forus is seeking consultants with demonstrated expertise in:

• Civil society advocacy and enabling environment issues
• African governance and policy processes
• Participatory strategy development
• Regional and continental stakeholder engagement
• Power mapping and political economy analysis
• Development finance and Agenda 2030 processes

Applicants must possess strong English and French language skills, while knowledge of additional African languages will be considered an advantage.

Preference will be given to African-led or Africa-based consultancy teams with proven experience working across multiple African sub-regions.

Budget, Timeline and Application Process

The consultancy will be conducted remotely and is expected to require approximately 30–50 working days between July 2026 and March 2027.

Key details include:

• Budget: Up to €20,000 (all taxes included)
• Location: Remote
• Consultancy Period: July 2026 – March 2027
• Application Deadline: 30 June 2026
• Strategy Publication Target: 31 March 2027

Interested applicants must submit:

• Motivation letter
• Technical proposal
• Financial proposal
• Consultant CVs
• Writing samples
• References

Applications should be sent electronically to recruitment@forus-international.org with the subject line: “Consultancy – Africa Regional Advocacy Strategy”.

Advancing Collective Civil Society Influence Across Africa

Through this consultancy, Forus aims to strengthen the collective voice of African civil society organizations and create practical advocacy frameworks that support regional cooperation, policy influence, and sustainable development. The initiative represents an important opportunity for experienced consultants to contribute to a continent-wide process designed to enhance civic engagement, strengthen advocacy networks, and amplify civil society priorities across Africa.

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Disclaimer: Global South Opportunities (GSO) is not the organization offering this opportunity. For any inquiries, please contact the official organization directly. Please do not send your applications & CVs to GSO, as we are unable to process them. Due to the high volume of emails, we receive daily, we may not be able to respond to all inquiries. Thank you for your understanding.

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