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Terms of Reference Dubbing and Sign Language Adaptation Service Ethiopia July 2025

Girl Effect
Contract
On-site
Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Consultant Jobs in Ethiopia, Education and Teaching Jobs in Ethiopia, NGO Jobs in Ethiopia
Terms of Reference Dubbing and Sign Language Adaptation Service Ethiopia July 2025

Country: Ethiopia
Organization: Girl Effect
Closing date: 17 Jul 2025

Who We Are

Girl Effect is an international non-profit organization dedicated to addressing challenges faced by adolescent girls and youth in Ethiopia. Operating in the country since 2013, the organization leverages Social and Behavior Change (SBC) strategies, combining media and on-the-ground interventions to tackle various societal issues and empower young people. Girl Effect Ethiopia created the youth brand Yegna in 2014, since then has reached over 10 million people through multiple products, outreach programs, girl networks, and research pieces done all for the betterment of adolescent lives.

We create safe spaces for girls, sharing facts and answering questions about health, nutrition, education, relationships, etc. And we use innovative technology so we can reach girls at scale. We arm girls with the skills to negotiate and redefine what they are told is possible, so every girl can choose to be in control of her body, her health, her learning and livelihood.

When a girl unlocks her power to make different choices that change her life, it inspires others to do so too. She starts a ripple effect that impacts her family, community, and country.

That’s the Girl Effect.

Background

Yegna, Girl Effect’s branded multi-media platform established in Ethiopia in 2014, focuses on empowering adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) through fun, factual and fictional content using role-modeling and storytelling to inspire them to think and behave differently.

Meaning “Ours” in Amharic, Yegna brings young people together to overcome life’s challenges and realize their ambitions. Our platform comprises a national TV drama, music, digital and social media channels, and club activities. All our content is research-driven and co-designed with our audience. Testing, tracking and learning are critical to our design process. We aim for our content to be authentic, relevant, relatable to our audiences, and as engaging as possible.

Yegna took our TV drama to rural schools in the past few years, forming a viewing and discussion platform to improve the knowledge of hard-to-reach girls potentially missing out on vital information. The weekly program for girls and boys aged 13-15 includes viewing sessions of the Yegna TV drama series and discussion groups around crucial topics discussed in the drama. The discussion session was supported by a student manual and a fact sheet that helped students converse with their families.

Building on the success of this program, we plan to implement it in other regional schools. To support this, we seek to:

  • Translate and dub Seasons 1–5 of Yegna: The Story of All of Us into Sidaamu Afoo.
  • Create and integrate sign language–adapted versions of Seasons 1–5 in Amharic, Afan Oromo, Afar, and Sidaamu Afoo to ensure the content is accessible to hearing-impaired students.

What we are looking for

Girl Effect is looking for a qualified production agency to:

  • Translate and dub Seasons 1–5 Yegna TV drama episodes from Amharic into Sidaamu Afoo, maintaining cultural and contextual relevance.
    • Season 1: 5 episodes, approximately 55 minutes each
    • Season 2: 8 episodes, approximately 50 minutes each
    • Season 3: 8 episodes, approximately 50 minutes each
    • Season 4: 10 episodes, approximately 40 minutes each
    • Season 5: 10 episodes, approximately 40 minutes each
  • Develop sign language adaptations of Seasons 1–5 in Amharic, Afan Oromo, Afar, and Sidaamu Afoo, seamlessly integrating sign language interpretation into the videos.

Responsibilities

The selected agency will have the following key responsibilities:

  • Transcription and Translation
    • Transcribe all episodes of the five seasons of the drama, capturing all dialogue, titles, credits, on-screen text, and questions.
    • Translate the transcribed content into Sidaamu Afoo, ensuring contextual and cultural appropriateness.
  • Voice Acting and Dubbing
    • Recruit professional Sidaamu Afoo–speaking voice actors with experience in acting or voice-over work who reflect the tone and personalities of the original cast.
    • Record high-quality audio and dub all episodes into Sidaamu Afoo.
    • Ensure the dubbed content remains relevant, engaging, and well-paced for the target audience.
    • Incorporate feedback from Girl Effect and its quality assurance team at key review stages.
  • Sign Language Adaptation
    • Translate the spoken content of Seasons 1–5 into Ethiopian Sign Language (EthSL), maintaining accuracy, cultural sensitivity, and alignment with the intended message.
    • Provide experienced and professional on-camera sign language interpreters with clear and relatable communication styles.
    • Film interpreters in high resolution against a clean, neutral background for clarity.
    • Integrate the interpreter videos into each episode using picture-in-picture (PIP) techniques, ensuring proper sizing and placement that does not obscure the original visuals.
    • Align interpreter timing precisely with the spoken content for seamless viewing.
    • Integrate sign language–adapted versions into the completed Seasons 1–5 in Amharic, Afan Oromo, Afar, and Sidaamu Afoo, ensuring all content is fully accessible to hearing-impaired audiences. (Episodes in other languages will be provided by GE)
  • Quality Assurance
    • Conduct thorough checks on all outputs (dubbed and sign language–adapted) to ensure clarity, pacing, cultural relevance, and accessibility.
    • Address and incorporate feedback from the Girl Effect team throughout the process.

Expected Deliverables

The selected agency is expected to deliver the following:

Sidaamu Afoo Dubbed Version of Yegna: The Story of All of Us

  • Final broadcast-ready video files of all 41 episodes in Sidaamu Afoo, with integrated audio dubbing.
    • Season 1: 5 episodes, approximately 55 minutes each
    • Season 2: 8 episodes, approximately 50 minutes each
    • Season 3: 8 episodes, approximately 50 minutes each
    • Season 4: 10 episodes, approximately 40 minutes each
    • Season 5: 10 episodes, approximately 40 minutes each

Sign Language–Adapted Versions of Seasons 1–5

  • Fully developed and integrated sign language–adapted versions with timing of interpretation aligned precisely with the spoken content of Seasons 1–5 in the following languages:
    • Amharic
    • Afan Oromo
    • Afar
    • Sidaamu Afoo
  • Final broadcast-ready video files of all 41 episodes in each of the four languages listed above, fully accessible to hearing-impaired audiences. (Note: Episodes in Amharic, Afan Oromo, and Afar will be provided by Girl Effect; the vendor is responsible for producing the sign language–adapted versions.)
  • High-resolution video of Ethiopian Sign Language (EthSL) interpreters seamlessly embedded into the episodes using picture-in-picture (PIP) techniques, maintaining clarity, proper sizing, and unobstructed visuals.

Quality-Checked Outputs

  • All delivered versions (dubbed and sign language–adapted) reviewed and approved for clarity, pacing, cultural relevance, and accessibility.
  • All feedback from Girl Effect incorporated before the final submission.

Master Files

  • Delivery of all final master files in agreed broadcast-quality formats for all versions.

Expected Commitment

  • The assignment will run from Jul 23, 2025 - Aug 29, 2025

Management

The agency will have a primary point of contact within our Ethiopia Create team.

Procurement Timeline

  • Terms of Reference Published: Jul 10, 2025
  • Deadline for Proposal Submission: Jul 17, 2025
  • Project Commencement: Jul 23, 2025

Proposal Submission

Your proposal, should you be interested (Max 5 pages), should cover:

  • Credentials/Profile - Please showcase any previous work that you consider relevant to what we are trying to achieve, how we approach our work, and the audience we cater to. Describe the qualifications, experience, and capabilities of the firm or consultant in providing the requested services.
  • Reference - Provide at least three references for similar contracts with a description of the service provided, the value of the contract, and the contract periods of performance.
  • Breakdown of Costs with applicable taxes and other charges clearly identified in ETB. Firms should provide a financial budget and work plan for the requested deliverables.
    • All applicable taxes should be quoted separately.

In their proposal, the bidder must demonstrate an understanding of the requirements described in the TOR and demonstrate how the bidder will meet the requirements of the evaluation criteria.

GE is not liable for any costs incurred during the award/contract preparation, submission, or negotiation of the award/contract. All submitted documentation and/or materials shall become and remain the property of GE.

VALIDITY of the proposal shall be for 90 days from the date of bid closure.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Technical Approach and Relevant Experience (50%) – Demonstrated capacity to deliver high-quality dubbed and sign language–adapted video content that is narrative-driven, culturally relevant, and accessible for youth audiences, including hard-to-reach and hearing-impaired groups.
  • Team Composition (10%) – Qualifications and expertise of the proposed personnel.
  • Financial Proposal (40%) – Cost-effectiveness, value for money, and alignment with project deliverables.

Copyright

All materials/documents arising from this work shall remain the property of Girl Effect.

Equal Opportunities

Girl Effect is committed to equal opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, disability, gender or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

We are committed to building an organization that is truly representative of the communities that we serve. To this end, due regard will be paid to procuring consultancy services of organizations and individuals with a deep understanding and experience of our programming markets and diverse professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.

Safeguarding

You may be required to undertake safeguarding checks. Shortlisted suppliers will be assessed on our organizational values at the interview stage. The successful consultant will be expected to adhere to our safeguarding policy. We encourage you to read and understand our safeguarding policy, the executive summary of which can be found here. We have zero tolerance for all forms of violence against children, beneficiaries and staff.

Tax

Girl Effect Ethiopia is obliged by the Ethiopian tax authorities to ensure all taxes are charged where applicable. Applicants are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position regarding provisions of Ethiopian tax legislation when developing their proposals.

Disclaimer

GE reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, the number of shortlisted participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party. GE shall inform the ONLY successful applicant(s). The process of negotiation and signing of the contract with the successful applicant(s) will follow.

Please note: We will evaluate only proposals submitted following the application process outlined in the TOR and using our specified email address (suppliers@girleffect.org).

How to apply

How To Apply

To apply for this opportunity, please submit a proposal by email with the subject line “Dubbing and Sign Language Adaptation Service - Ethiopia” to suppliers@girleffect.org by July 17, 2025.