The Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE) Secretariat is seeking a consultant or consultancy firm to lead the design, development and roll-out of GFCE Knowledge Modules under the AU-GFCE project. The work is expected to start in August 2021 and is expected to be completed within 9 months. The deadline for applications is July 22, 2021.

Background

Established in 2015, the GFCE is a multi-stakeholder community of more than 130 members and partners consisting of governments, IGOs, companies, academia and project implementers from all regions of the world. Its mission is to strengthen cyber capacity and expertise globally by being a pragmatic, action-orientated and flexible platform for international collaboration. With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and in partnership with the African Union (AU), the GFCE is engaged in a two-year project to develop cyber capacity building knowledge through Knowledge Modules (KMs) on key cyber capacity building topics. The KMs aim to enable participants of the AU Member States to better understand cyber capacity building challenges and opportunities; and how to enhance their national cyber resilience. The development of KMs involves three key functions (see Figure below): CCB priority needs from AU members states; engagement with Africa Cyber Expert (ACE) community, AUCSEG and other related groups; and interacting with the GFCE community through the WGs.

The GFCE seeks to develop KMs that will address three main objectives:

• Enhance participants knowledge in addressing identified priority needs of AU member states, and not limited, in the following focus areas:
  1. National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS) development and implementation.
  2. National Critical Infrastructure Protection (CNIP), Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (CIIP), Computer Emergency Response Team (CERTs) and Cyber/Computer Security Incidence Response Teams (CSIRTs).
  3. Legislation and legal frameworks related to cybersecurity.
  4. Cybersecurity capacity, awareness, culture and outreach.
  5. Cybersecurity standards
• Enable participants to understand and effectively communicate the significant impact of Cyber Capacity Building (CCB) at the national level.
• Bridging the gender gap in cybersecurity leadership by encouraging more women from AU members states to take part and develop expertise on CCB.

Role

The GFCE intends to deliver KMs to address the above objectives. The consultant will work with the AU-GFCE project team to lead and coordinate the design, development and roll-out of the KMs. The consultant will also be expected to work with both the GFCE Working Groups and African Community (including ACE and AUCSEG). Some of the desirable design and delivery features of the KMs include:

• The content of the KMs will primarily derive (or as much as possible) from existing knowledge, expertise or content from the GFCE, including its members and partners and Working Groups.
• Delivery and deployment should provide for both online and offline access to the KMs by participants. Online access will enable wider access of the KMs and the content will be delivered in English with subtitles in French.
• KMs should be based on existing good practice approaches and standardised to deliver:
  • In-person many-to-many sessions to participants
  • Enhance effective communication of CCB principles and impact
  • A platform accessible both online and offline
• The KMs will be implemented and executed by the experts (from the GFCE Community) whom have been involved in the development of the KMs (e.g. by providing expertise, knowledge or existing content) under coordination of the consultant.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant’s tasks include but are not limited to:

• Project Management
  1. Participate in an initial kick-off meeting to meet with both the GFCE Secretariat and AU-GFCE project team, to discuss the scope of the project, validate critical objectives, agree on main objectives, and to develop a project plan to guide the project through completion.
  2. Provide continuous updates to the AU-GFCE project team on progress of assignment.
  3. Collaborate with AU-GFCE project team, GFCE Community and Africa Community to manage the KMs content and structure peer-reviews.
• Content Design, Development and Roll-out

1. Work with the AU-GFCE project team to understand existing content and to instructionally design the content into storyboards to meet the agreed KMs objectives. The content of the KMs will be provided and/or informed by the existing knowledge and expertise of the GFCE Working Groups and GFCE members and partners.
2. In consultation with AU-GFCE project team, the consultant will present samples (preferably three) of user interface designs for the KMs, each to include an example of a Introduction/Main menu screen and a page of sample content. These designs should include color palettes, header and footer sections, navigational and menu buttons, and follow Online Learning Consortium (OLC) branding guidelines.
3. AU-GFCE project team will work with the consultant to refine the designs and select a final interface to be used for all KMs and the Communications Module.
4. Deliver final development of the KMs by December 2021/January 2022, according to the requirements and criteria provided by the AU-GFCE project team. Coordinate the roll out of the KMs to the participants of the program between January 2022 and April 2022.

Requirements, Qualifications and Skills

1. The consultancy firm’s team must be comprised of qualified experts, with a demonstrated track record in developing quality online KMs or equivalent learning tools. Overall experience of firm should be more than 5+ years.
2. It is expected that the team have experience developing online KMs or equivalent learning tools in low-bandwidth environments and have knowledge of delivering online KMs or equivalent learning tools in developing countries, particularly in Africa.
3. The firm should have a strong project management ability and excellent communication skills, preferably in both English and French.
4. References and examples of past work are required and should be included in the proposal submitted by the bidding consultant.

How to Apply

Please send a proposal with your motivation, CV and examples of past work before Thursday 22nd July 2021 to  contact@thegfce.org. Interviews will be held, starting from 27 July. A reference check could be part of the selection procedure.

For more information on this opportunity please contact Marjo Baayen, Director of the GFCE Secretariat, via contact@thegfce.org.