Terms of Reference: For a Consultant to translate the Inter-Regional Peace Manual into Amharic, Tigrigna and Afaan Oromo

Location: Ethiopia

Organization: Coalition of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations for Elections (CECOE)

Deadline: Oct 21, 2026

Job Description

1. Background

CECOE is a non-profit, non-governmental civil society organisation comprising over 190 member organisations. CECOE was licensed by the F.D.R.E. Authority for Civil Society Organisations (ACSO) in 2019 with registration number 4748 under the Civil Society Organisations Proclamation 1113/2019, to enhance and coordinate the role of Ethiopian CSOs in election observation, voter education, preventing electoral conflicts, and providing capacity building and support for its member organisations.

CECOE is a member of the East and Horn of Africa Election Observers Network (E-HORN), African Election Observers Network (AfEONet), and a member of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM), which connects regional networks and individual monitoring organisations across more than 88 countries worldwide.

Since its establishment, CECOE has conducted observation missions for various electoral events. These missions include the Sidama referendum, the 6th General Election, the South West Peoples Region referendum, the South Ethiopia Region referendum, the Wolaita Sodo referendum rerun, the outstanding and re-elections in Benishangul Gumuz, Afar, South Ethiopia, and Meskan and Mareko and the 7th General Election. For these citizen observations, CECOE has deployed 8119 observers.

Coalition of Ethiopian Civil Society Organisations for Elections (CECOE) with financial support from Agence Française de Développement (AFD), through Civil Society Innovation Fund II (CSIF II) Program is implementing project with primary objective fostering inclusive democracy, civic participation, human rights, and peacebuilding throughout Ethiopia by strengthening civil society actors. This intervention thrives and works the pivotal function local civil society entities fulfill in advancing dialogue, building trust, preventing conflict, encouraging civic involvement, and fostering accountable democratic systems.

CECOE invites highly qualified and experienced consulting firms or individual experts to offer consultancy services. The manual serves as a core reference across six established Biqu Zega Hubs, functioning as physical and operational centers where civic entities, media personnel, youth groups, academic institutions, and community leaders can obtain information, lead consultative sessions, exchange insights, and formulate contextualized civic and peacebuilding activities.

Through financial support provided by AFD via the CSIF II program, CECOE is undertaking a consortium initiative titled “Promoting Democracy, Civic engagement, and human rights through strengthening of Civil Society Actors!” in six regions: Oromia, South Ethiopia, Amhara, Tigray, Benishangul Gumuz, and Afar. This project seeks to foster a more inclusive and resilient democratic environment.

2. Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to translate the Inter-Regional Peacebuilding training from English into Amharic, Tigrigna, and Afaan Oromo. The translation should accurately reflect the meaning and intent of the original content while preserving its conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding principles. It should also be clear, culturally appropriate, and easy to understand that youth facilitators and community dialogue participants can use the manual effectively.

3. Objective

The specific objectives of the assignment are to:

Translate the Inter-Regional Peacebuilding training into Amharic, Tigrigna and Afaan Oromo.
Maintain the accuracy, consistency, and integrity of technical terminology related to human rights, peacebuilding, conflict sensitivity, dialogue, and facilitation.
Ensure that the translated texts are culturally appropriate, easy to understand, and suitable for youth audiences and hub consultant/facilitators.
Produce publication-ready translated versions after incorporating comments from CECOE.

4. Scope of Work

The selected translator(s) will be expected to:

Review and familiarize themselves with the English version of the manual.
Translate the complete manual into the assigned language(s).
Ensure consistency in terminology throughout the translation.
Adapt language where necessary to maintain clarity while preserving the meaning of the original text.
Conduct thorough proofreading and quality assurance before submission.
Revise the translated documents based on comments and feedback provided by CECOE.
Submit final publication-ready versions in editable Microsoft Word format.

5. Key Deliverables

Consultants are required to submit a preliminary draft for technical review, incorporate all feedback, and deliver fully finalized training manuals in all three target languages.

Translate the English version of the Inter-Regional Peacebuilding training manual into Amharic, Affan Oromiffa, and Tigrigna, ensuring proper alignment with local terminology, cultural context, and conflict-sensitive dynamics.
Translate and refine the Inter-Regional Peacebuilding training manual according to CECOE standard quality criteria.
Translated Inter-Regional Peacebuilding training manual Facilitation Manual in:
- Amharic
- Tigrigna
- Afaan Oromo
Final edited and proofread versions incorporating CECOE’s feedback.
Glossary of key technical terms used in the translation (if applicable).

6. Duration of the Assignment

The assignment is expected to be completed within 15–20 calendar days from the date of contract signing.

7. Required Qualification

The translator(s) should possess:

A bachelor’s degree or higher in Languages, Linguistics, Translation Studies, Social Sciences, Law, Human Rights, Peace and Conflict Studies, or a related field.
Demonstrated professional experience in translating English into Amharic, Tigrigna, and/or Afaan Oromo.
Proven experience translating technical documents related to human rights, governance, peacebuilding, democracy, development, or social sciences.
Excellent command of English and the target language(s) including grammar, spelling and style.
Strong attention to detail and ability to maintain consistency in terminology.
Previous experience working with NGOs, civil society organizations or international organizations is an advantage.

8. Reporting and Supervision

The translator(s) will work closely with CECOE’s program team and will report directly to the assigned project coordinator. CECOE will review the translated documents and provide feedback, which the translator(s) will be expected to address before final submission.

9. Application Requirements

Interested consultants should submit their application with:

A technical proposal outlining their understanding of the assignment and translation approach.
Financial proposal indicating the cost of translation (per language or for the complete assignment).
Updated Curriculum Vitae (CV).
Samples of previous translation work, preferably related to human rights, peacebuilding, governance, or development (if available).