Online Curriculum Design Consultant: Dialogue under Pressure (Multi-Track Engagement with Armed Actors and Authorities)

Terms of Reference

Consultancy: Development of an Online Training Course on Dialogue under Pressure – Multi-Track Engagement with Armed Actors and Authorities

Position title: Online Curriculum Design Consultant: Dialogue under Pressure (Multi-Track Engagement with Armed Actors and Authorities)

Organisation Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP): Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) Academy

Reporting line: UCP Academy Manager

Duty station: Remote (home-based); no travel foreseen

Contract period: November 1 – 31 December 2026

Level of effort: 20 working days within the contract period

Maximum budget: CHF 8,000 (all-inclusive, equivalent to CHF 400 per working day)

Background

Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) is an international civilian protection organisation that works alongside local communities to prevent violence and build sustainable peace through unarmed civilian protection (UCP). Direct, sustained and principled engagement with armed actors, state authorities and other duty bearers, conducted simultaneously at community, local, national and international levels, is a defining feature of UCP practice and one of the methodologies through which NP teams deter violence, reduce threats to civilians and create space for protection.

NP’s UCP Academy is the organisation’s learning platform, designed to make UCP practice accessible to practitioners, communities, civil society organisations, policymakers and academics. NP is expanding the Academy’s course catalogue and seeks a consultant to design a training course on dialogue under pressure: how unarmed civilian protection actors prepare for, conduct and sustain multi-track engagement with armed actors and authorities in volatile, high-risk and rapidly shifting environments. The course will subsequently be digitalised and hosted as an online course on the UCP Academy website. The consultant is responsible for producing a ‘digitalisation-ready’ curriculum, not for the technical build.

Several Geneva-based and international organisations hold recognised mandates and established methodologies in humanitarian negotiation and engagement with armed actors. NP does not seek to duplicate that offer. The course must be positioned deliberately in the space specific to UCP: protection-driven, community-anchored, multi-track dialogue carried out by unarmed civilian protection teams together with the communities they accompany.

Objective

To develop a complete, practice-based and pedagogically sound training course on multi-track dialogue with armed actors and authorities under conditions of pressure, ready for digitalisation and delivery through the UCP Academy online platform, and clearly positioned as complementary to trainings already offered by organisations mandated in this field.

Scope of work

Under the direct supervision of the UCP Academy Manager, the consultant will:

• Conduct a short inception review of existing NP internal guidance, engagement protocols, training materials, field tools and relevant external literature on dialogue with armed actors and authorities, multi-track engagement and protection-centred negotiation.
• Map the existing training and methodological landscape, including CCHN / Frontline Negotiations, Geneva Call, ICRC, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and comparable actors, and produce a written complementarity and value-add analysis: what this course will deliberately not cover, where it draws on or cross-references existing frameworks, and what is distinctive to a UCP approach.
• Consult NP field teams (through remote interviews and/or focus group discussions across a representative sample of country programmes) to capture field-tested practice, engagement protocols, case examples, dilemmas and lessons learned and to validate the draft course content.
• Design the course architecture: learning pathway, modules and sessions, learning objectives, estimated learning time, sequencing and prerequisites, including explicit signposting to complementary external training where relevant.
• Develop module content covering, at a minimum: actor analysis and preparation; mandate, red lines and principled positioning; multi-track sequencing and coherence across community, local, national and international levels; managing pressure, coercion, intimidation and duress; team safety, duty of care and psychological load; confidentiality and information handling; gender, inclusion and community-led dialogue; and handover, follow-up and accountability.
• Design assessment and learner engagement elements: knowledge checks, end-of-module quizzes, a final assessment, and criteria for course completion or certification.

Deliverables 

• Inception note, including methodology, consultation plan, and annotated course outline
• Complementarity and value-add analysis (CCHN, Geneva Call, and comparable actors), including positioning recommendations
• Consultation report, including key findings and case material from NP field teams 
• Draft course package with modules, content, scenario exercises, and assessments 
• Validation session, consolidated feedback matrix, and final course package, including a digitalisation guidance note and resource list

All deliverables shall be submitted in English, in editable formats. All materials produced remain the intellectual property of Nonviolent Peaceforce.

Required qualifications and experience

• Advanced university degree in peace and conflict studies, international relations, international humanitarian law, education or a related field.
• Demonstrated, substantive experience in unarmed civilian protection, including direct engagement with armed actors and authorities, protective presence and deterrence and community-based protection, is a requirement; prior work with or on NP or comparable UCP actors is a strong asset.
• Demonstrated familiarity with the methodologies and training offers of organisations mandated in dialogue with armed actors and authorities (for example CCHN / Frontline Negotiations, Geneva Call, the ICRC, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue).
• At least five years’ experience designing adult learning curricula, preferably for online or blended delivery, including scenario- or simulation-based learning on sensitive and high-risk subject matter.
• Proven ability to translate field practice into accessible learning content; excellent written English; French, Spanish or Arabic an asset.
• Ability to work independently, remotely and across multiple time zones, and to handle sensitive operational information with discretion.

Reporting and working arrangements

The consultancy is fully remote. The consultant reports directly to the UCP Academy Manager, with a check-in at inception, weekly progress calls and written approval of each deliverable before payment. The consultant uses their own equipment and software. NP facilitates introductions to field teams and, where possible, to external reference organisations. Case material drawn from field operations is handled under NP confidentiality and do-no-harm requirements: sensitive examples must be anonymised or cleared before use.

Budget and payment

The maximum available budget is CHF 8,000, inclusive of all fees, taxes and incidental costs, for a maximum of 20 working days. Payment is made in 2 instalmendts: 25% upon signing of contract and 75% upon completion (with written approval) of assignment. The consultant is responsible for any tax requirements in their country.

How to Apply 

• We strongly encourage applicants to carefully review the job description before submitting their application and ensure they meet the essential requirements.  
• Candidates meeting the above requirements are requested to submit the following, through our website, detailing their experience and how they qualify for the role. Incomplete applications will not be considered:  
  • CV. 
  • Short technical proposal (maximum three pages) outlining approach and indicative module structure. 
  • Relevant work sample and an all-inclusive daily rate.  
• The closing date for applications is Thursday, 8 October, 2026. 
• This is on a rolling basis. Candidates may be selected before the closing date apply early. 
• As part of the recruitment process, shortlisted candidates may be asked to complete a technical assignment before participating in an interview.

SPECIAL NOTICE

Nonviolent Peaceforce is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against based on disability.

Nonviolent Peaceforce acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of employees, contractors, volunteers, interns, communities we work with, and other stakeholders and is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities and government guidance and complies with best practices in the Humanitarian and Development sector.NP expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct. We prioritise ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate our values are recruited to work for us.

The post holder will undertake the appropriate level of training and is responsible for ensuring that they understand and work within the safeguarding policies of the organisation.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. NP also participates in the InterAgency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

NO FEE 

We never ask for payment as part of our selection process, and we always contact candidates via our corporate accounts and platforms. If you are approached for payment, this is likely to be fraudulent. Please check whether the role you are interested in is posted here on our website. 

Compensation: CHF 8000