Curriculum Development Specialist

Emerging Leaders Foundation-Africa (ELF-Africa) exists to mentor, support, and accompany young women and men to achieve meaningful, dignified, and impactful participation in governance, economy, and public affairs at all levels of society, anchored on our foundational values-based approach to leadership as service. ELF-Africa's vision is pursued through three programmatic pillars namely, Governance & Civic Engagement, Economic Empowerment, and our signature Leadership Development Program.

Purpose of Consultancy

ELF-Africa, in partnership with the John Templeton Foundation is implementing VirtueLead, a new project that aims to immerse young leaders in a rigorous exploration of targeted character virtues, such as love, hope, integrity, humility and courage; while emphasizing critical leadership practices and mindsets such as Ubuntu, African Dignity, Healing and Forgiveness, Listening and Centering Self.

The Fellows, ages 25–35, competitively selected from across Kenya, are active citizens demonstrating commitment to drive bold change in their communities and organizations evidenced through their involvement in community initiatives, professional roles, entrepreneurial ventures, or other leadership experiences.

The VirtueLead program intends to employ a multifaceted approach to learning which will include:

1. Rigorous character training through workshops, seminars, and interactive exercises;
2. Immersive experiences such as community projects and outdoor expeditions to deepen their understanding and integrate these virtues into their lives
3. Real-world leadership challenges where participants will have the opportunity to apply their learning by implementing community-based initiatives, mentoring younger leaders, advocating for social and environmental justice and leading teams or organizations; and
4. Capstone projects where Fellows, as individuals or groups develop and implement projects that seek to resolve social or societal challenges.

The expected outcome of VirtueLead is that these young leaders will demonstrate a deeper understanding and embodiment of the targeted character virtues, mindsets, and practices. By observing and analyzing the impact of these experiences on the leaders' personal and professional development, we will gain a deeper understanding of how character development can be effectively integrated into leadership.

To realize VirtueLead's objectives, ELF-Africa seeks a specialist to develop a comprehensive, high-quality training curriculum that is rooted in African contexts and adaptable across Kenya's diverse socio-economic and cultural landscape.

Goals and Objectives of Consultancy

The goal of this assignment is to develop a detailed training curriculum on training topics/themes completed with learning outcomes and course content, schedule and timelines, facilitators' guide and a workbook. This training curriculum will serve as the standard VirtueLead training manual for all future Fellows and will be reviewed regularly. The curriculum should:

·      Be developed based on an identification of leadership and mentorship needs, and the involvement and collaboration of stakeholders identified by ELF-Africa as guided by the consultant. (Stakeholders may include ELF Alumni, partners, staff and other relevant stakeholders)

·      Be tailored based on the African context with a focus to improve leadership outcomes for fellows, the communities and organizations they serve based on the virtues, practices and mindsets mentioned above.

·      Incorporate innovative approaches and existing content based on ELF-Africa's flagship leadership program ILEAD and other relevant leadership assessment recommendations.

·      Champion ethical leadership with strong integration of Gender, Disability and Social Inclusion.

·      Respond effectively to the current and future needs of leadership in Africa.

·      Ensure adaptability and relevance across Kenya's diverse ethnic and socio-economic landscape.

·      Be adaptable for both in-person and online delivery, ensuring accessibility for diverse learning environments and participant needs, and enabling hybrid approaches when required.

·      Integrate ELF-Africa's Mentorship Model and Alumni Engagement Model, linking Fellows with seasoned mentors for ongoing guidance and ensuring curriculum activities and follow-up mechanisms leverage the experience, networks, and peer-learning opportunities offered by the ELF alumni community.

Scope of Work and Responsibilities

The Curriculum Development Specialist will work closely with the ELF-Africa team in completing the following tasks:

·      Conduct thorough training needs assessment to define the current landscape of leadership in Kenya especially as it relates to the role of virtues like love, hope, integrity, courage and humility; as well as mindsets and practices of requirements of Ubuntu, African Dignity, Healing and Forgiveness, Listening and Centering Self.

·      Develop a curriculum and training materials which respond to the individual and general needs of communities, organizations and public institutions with detailed modules and training materials.

·      Develop a Capstone Projects Guide, a tool that will be used by fellows and mentors as Fellows do their capstone projects in their communities and/or organizations.

·      Develop the following instruments for self-learning within the curriculum: reflective practice exercises, self-assessments, and peer review assessments.

·      Make recommendations about how best to deliver the curricula, including recommendations about the most effective training strategies and methodologies for in-person, online, or blended learning formats, including maximizing digital learning opportunities.

·      Review, analyze and incorporate best practices, lessons and modules learned through the ILEAD Fellowship primarily, and our other projects such as the Public Service Emerging Leaders Fellowship (PSELF), The Good Politician, My Sisters Keeper, Tunaweza among other interventions as well as ELF's structured Mentorship Model and Alumni Engagement Model to ensure continuity, peer support, and intergenerational knowledge transfer.

·      Conduct training of trainers on the curricula, and curriculum validation with select stakeholders.

Deliverables

·      Completed VirtueLead Curriculum which includes the entire Course content, a
Facilitator's Guide, Capstone Project Guide and Fellow's Workbook.

·      Training of Trainers on the developed curriculum; and curriculum validation with select
stakeholders.

Duration

It is expected the assignment will take a maximum of one month with the consultancy closed out by
1
st
October 2025.

Submission of Interest & Qualification

To confirm your interest in this assignment, kindly submit the following documents to by
Sunday 31st August 2025
, at 11:59pm. Application should include:

a.    A brief professional bio highlighting experience in related work

b.   A proposal, workplan and budget

Qualifications

·      Master's Degree in either Education (Curriculum Development and Instruction); Development studies, Leadership and Management or any related field.

·      Proven experience in curriculum development, particularly in community, non-profit, public service, private sector or related fields; and experience in use of Action Research and Learning methods such as cooperative inquiries, appreciative inquiries, human centred design or/and, Asset Based Community Development which would be useful for capstone projects.

·      Strong experience in youth leadership programming.

·      Strong understanding of leadership needs and challenges in Africa across all political, social and economic sectors.

·      Ability to synthesize information from multiple sources and contexts.

·      Excellent project management and communication skills.

·      Familiarity with reflective practice in learning, including incorporation of immersion, community service and capstone projects as part of curriculum.