Call for Trainer to improve Theory of Change and measurement of impact

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WIDE+ (Women In Development Europe+) is seeking a qualified trainer to provide an expert capacity building for our team and network partners. The training is to take place face-to-face on 27 September in Bucharest, Romania, with an online follow-up event a month or so later. It will also include the development of materials to help with designing and tracking impact.

The focus of this consultancy is to move beyond quantitative tracking and deepen our organisational understanding of impact, theory of change, and policy influence within the framework of our intersectional feminist work.

Background to call

WIDE+ is a European network of feminist activists, scholars, and women’s rights organisations that reaches out to 400-500 associations through its national membership-based networks and organisations across Europe. Its formal membership includes over 31 associations that are formally registered in European countries, of which 22 are registered in 14 EU member states. It is a democratically governed network with a General Assembly and a board. Feminist governance principles are integrated through rotating roles in the board (no appointed chair) and the addition of a body called the caucus -with around 20 members- that is responsible for the strategic direction of the network. Members, volunteers and allies work together in 6 thematic working groups that collectively carry out the activities of the network, supported by a small secretariat team.

Under the framework of the EU CERV Structural Grant (2025-2027) for the WE-EMPOWER II project, WIDE+ seeks to advance its understanding of creating impact. It will hold a transnational capacity building event for up to 55 members and partners of the network between 24 and 27 September in Bucharest, Romania. The consultant is expected to facilitate a full-day training on the last day of this event, on 27 September.

The meeting will combine two capacity-building activities that each have a different focus. There will be two days of capacity building to exchange and learn about Migrant Women’s Democratic Participation. Through participatory workshops, policy discussions, peer-learning spaces, and creative methodologies, participants will explore how migrant women (and gender diverse folks) contribute to the democratic fabric of European societies as leaders, organisers, advocates, and agents of change. The other two days are reserved for strategic planning and training, including collective planning to shape the strategies & programme of the European Feminist Forum and a training on enhancing the impact of organisations and particularly WIDE+.

The vision is that after the face-to-face training, the WIDE+ secretariat and caucus implement the proposed methodologies and that within one or two months there is an online feedback session with the trainer.

Objective of the Consultancy

The objective of this consultancy is to facilitate a training aimed at strengthening the capacity of the WIDE+ secretariat, caucus, board, working group members and allies to better understand, assess, and communicate the impact of their work. While WIDE+ currently complies with standard narrative reporting and quantitative tracking, we aim to dig deeper into how impact is achieved. We want to move from “mere counting” to a more sophisticated model that differentiates between objectives, outcomes, outputs, and long-term sustainable change.

This includes:

Measurement Metrics: Developing metrics to measure impact to ensure sustainable change.
Impact Correlation: Improving how objectives, outcomes, outputs, and impacts interrelate to increase overall effectiveness.
Policy Influence: Enhancing our impact on European policies based on our selected strategic priorities.
Theory of Change: Refining our theory of change model to better prioritise activities and translate outputs into meaningful impacts.

The training is expected to combine practical tools with participatory reflection grounded in intersectional feminist approaches. We acknowledge that not all elements of designing and tracking impact can be covered with equal depth; it is up to the consultant to design a training in the choice of topics and approach that can elevate the current level of impact assessment. The secretariat and the board will provide input to help design this training.

Scope of Assignment

The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

Preparation and Design: Developing a tailored one-day training curriculum to address the focus of the training.
Training Delivery: Facilitating the one-and-a-half-day training session in-person on 27 September in Bucharest, Romania.
Material Development: Provide practical tools, methodologies and training materials that WIDE+ can continue using to strengthen its internal learning, monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment processes in the long run.
Online follow-up session: Leading a session to reflect on experiences trying to implement the training, helping to improve the implementation.

We offer

An opportunity to work according to feminist values and vision, to bring about feminist change in civic and political spaces. The training should be completed within a mutually agreed timeframe, keeping in mind that the capacity building event takes place on 27 September.

The consultancy will take place between 28 August and 15 November 2026, obviously with the focus of the tasks to be completed in the month of September. It is possible to split the assignment into two parts.

The consultancy preparation and content development may be conducted remotely, from anywhere. The consultant may be based outside the EU. However, given the scope of the network, we do not consider applications outside Europe (with Europe being defined more in line with the definition of the Council of Europe, which brings together almost 50 countries). The consultant is also expected to be physically present in Bucharest on 26 and 27 September for the delivery of the training and related activities.

The consultancy is expected to require a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 11 working days, including preparation, delivery of the training, development of supporting materials, and follow-up documentation when needed, with a daily rate of 400 Euros, exclusive of V.A.T.

Profile of the Consultant

Necessary Qualifications:

Proven experience in impact assessment, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and developing Theory of Change models, ideally for NGOs or networks.
Strong affinity and ideally experience working with intersectional feminist approaches, preferably around the strategic focus of WIDE+ (see: https://wideplus.org/about/objectives/).
Expertise or experience working at a transnational level, preferably at a European level.
Being located in a European country, including non-EU states.

Desired Qualifications:

Ability to translate complex concepts into practical, “hands-on” tools for grassroots and network organisations.
Strong facilitation and communication skills, particularly in participatory training settings.
Previous experience conducting trainings or capacity-building workshops for feminist organisations, civil society networks, or advocacy groups.

How to apply

Please send a CV and a 1-page motivation letter to info@wideplus.org before 23:59 PM (CET) on 18 August, 2026.

For more information, contact the above mentioned e-mail address. Interviews will be organised shortly after the closing date.