Deadline for proposal submission: August 20th, 2025.

Storytelling Consultants –  Feminist Foreign Policy in Action (2–3 Stories – each dependant on length of each piece)

About Restless Development

Restless Development is a global non profit agency. We support the collective power of young leaders to create a better world. We are independently registered and governed in nine countries (India, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, UK, USA, Zambia and Zimbabwe) bound together by our vision for youth power. We run youth-led programmes to tackle the issues that young people care about the most. We also run the Youth Collective – a growing network of over 4000 local youth civil society groups and organisations in 185 countries. We are committed to creating an agency that walks the talk on power shifting, using the power shifting checklist, both internally and externally.

Our approach to safeguarding

Restless Development considers the welfare and protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults to be an organisational imperative with primacy over the success of programmes or strategic objectives. We recognise that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and we expect all of our staff, volunteers and partners to ensure we protect the communities in which we operate from harm and abide by our Safeguarding Policy.

About the Project

Restless Development’s Walking the Talk (WTT) project is amplifying powerful, real-world stories of feminist action, leadership, and feminist foreign policy (FFP) in the Majority World. These stories will support advocacy; influence policy-makers; and shift narratives about feminist movements globally.

We are seeking up to three experienced storytellers, journalists, or media consultants to each source and write a maximum of 3 high-impact stories each of feminist leadership and activism in action.

Objectives:

• Identify and gather powerful human-interest stories of feminist action from the Majority World, working with feminist organisations, movements, or communities (note: we have a particular interest in the sourcing stories from LGBTQ+ organisations in the majority world)
• Highlight the ripple effects of investing in feminist organising, flexible funding, and feminist leadership
• Showcase stories that challenge dominant anti-rights narratives and offer fresh perspectives for policy and advocacy audiences
• Provide high-quality, well-evidenced stories for both Restless Development’s use and external media pitching

Priority Story Themes

We are seeking stories that explore the following:

• How, and why advancing feminist foreign policy (FFP) and funding feminist organisations in the Majority World really works and for whom
• The ripple effects of investing in feminist movements showing broader societal benefits and why they matter
• The urgency of defending feminist and women’s rights activism in global contexts where civic space is closing or backlash is intensifying
• The story of a community, or leader who took decisive action on feminist foreign policy and achieved tangible, measurable results
• Why flexible, sustainable funding works, showcasing the direct difference it makes to organisations, communities, or causes

Scope of Work (Per Consultant)

• Source 2-3 original stories from feminist organisations, movements, or communities in the Majority World
• Conduct interviews and gather quotes, evidence, accompanying imagery, and background material
• Write 2-3 compelling stories (800–1,200 words each) with consent from those featured
• Collaborate with Restless Development’s team on story selection
• Implement the relevant ethical guidelines and consent processes as outlined by Restless Development.
• Pitch to media / provide media pitch suggestions for each story (suggested outlets, pitch angles)

Deliverables (Per Consultant)

• 2–3 fully written stories (800–1,200 words each), publication-ready
• A short media pitch plan (1–2 paragraphs per story)
• Evidence of consent from interviewees and subjects, through adherence to the processes as outlined by Restless Development.
• Basic contact information of organisations or movements featured
• Short end-of-assignment summary (1–2 pages)

Consultant Profile

• Experienced journalist, storyteller, or media consultant
• Strong knowledge of feminist movements and social justice in the Majority World
• Proven ability to source and write human-interest or impact stories
• Ethical, non-extractive approach to storytelling
• Published journalist/ storyteller
• Experience with media pitching

Timeframe & Budget

• Assignment period: September – October 2025
• Estimated consultancy days: 6–8 days per consultant (suggested allocation below)
• Fee: Up to £2,800 per consultant (inclusive of VAT), dependent on final agreed deliverables.
  Restless Development will also reimburse any reasonable costs incurred in carrying out the agreed services (provided these are in line with the overall budget, and agreed in advance).

Indicative Day Allocation:

Activity Days
Story research, interviews, coordination 3–4 days
Writing stories 2-3 days
Media pitching plan, summary report 1 day

About you
We are looking for people with the right competencies and skills for the role, and who demonstrate the personal qualities consistent with our Values and behaviors.

Head: We are experts in our lived realities. We innovate and try new things without fear of failure.

Heart: Youth Power is at the heart of everything we do. We prioritise the wellbeing of all our people, supporting young leaders to thrive.

Hands: We collaborate and shift power with young people and communities. We connect, nurture, celebrate and fund young leaders.

Voice: We are honest and transparent.  We use our voice for what is right.

Restless Development is an Equal Opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community. Restless Development will ensure that no applicant or staff member receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, marital status, social status, caste, race, ethnic origin, religious belief, age, HIV status, disability, or any other factor that cannot be shown to be relevant to performance.

What we do for you

Remuneration
We are proud to commit to a transparent global salary scale, ensuring a fair and comparable system of pay across all global locations. In addition to salary, we offer pension contributions and other benefits in accordance with the local Hub.

Values and Culture
At Restless Development, we’re proud that the strength and integrity of our Values has been recognised by staff, young people, donors and others who we work with. Beyond this, we have a culture of recognising and celebrating both our Values and our global achievements with monthly Values Champions and an annual Values Day.

Work-life Balance

It goes without saying that we work hard at Restless Development. We also recognise the importance of helping staff to maintain a positive work-life balance.

Professional Development

Restless Development is proud to be an employer who recognises potential and invests in the development of its staff. We are committed to the professional development of our staff through:

• Empowering opportunities to work on significant projects which stretch and inspire staff – allowing them to develop on-the-job.
• Regular performance management.
• Training and development opportunities, including supporting our staff to identify mentors both within and outside of the agency.
• Quarterly Staff Workshops for all staff to give and receive agency updates, receive training, and socialise.

Travel and Medical Insurance
When travelling abroad with work, all staff will be covered by Restless Development’s travel and medical insurance.

To Apply

Please submit a short proposal including:

• Potential story ideas
• Your approach to sourcing and telling feminist impact stories
• Relevant networks or organisations you’d tap into
• 2-3 examples of previous published stories or campaigns
• Your region(s) or networks of focus

The deadline for applications is 20th August 2025.