TV Drama Production House/Agency

Who We Are

Girl Effect is an international non-profit that builds media girls want, trust, and need. From chatbots to chat shows and TV dramas to tech, our content helps adolescent girls in Africa and Asia make life choices and changes.

We create safe spaces for girls, sharing facts and answering questions about health, nutrition, education, and relationships, empowering girls with the skills to negotiate and redefine what they are told is possible “for a girl.”

Our reach is 50 million and counting. We’re using technology to reach girls at scale so every girl can choose to be in control of her body, her health, her learning, and her livelihood.

Because 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.

Our Approach

Girl Effect uses a branded media approach toward delivering behavioral change messaging.

We reach girls across the world, where they are -online and offline- to support them in the critical moments when choices regarding their health, education, and economic future need to be made.

We use our expertise in behavior change science to motivate and equip girls with information and support to help them see a different future for themselves, act on those choices, and drive greater demand for the opportunities and services available to them.

Girl Effect builds youth brands that girls love and trust, reaching girls where they are and creating change. Chhaa Jaa in India, Tujibebe in Tanzania, Yegna in Ethiopia, Ni Nyampinga in Rwanda, and WAZZII in Kenya – these are some of our youth brands. They exist across multiple channels – digital ( Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, TikTok, Whatsapp), TV, radio, print and offline. Together, these brands reach over 20M girls worldwide.

Girl Effect in Kenya

In Kenya, Girl Effect recently launched our premier brand and Minimum Viable Product (MVP) (WAZZII), which showcases the potential of digital technologies to unlock scalable, sustainable change, catalyze new investments, and help scale and replicate girl-centered telehealth across the continent. We are rapidly growing our portfolio of work in Kenya, including launching new products, content types, and campaigns targeted at youth to support diverse thematic areas, including sexual and reproductive health and economic empowerment, while working closely with young people every step of the way.

Kenyan Opportunity

Now, Girl Effect has the opportunity to bring hope and inspiration to an entire generation of Kenyan youth. We are building a national-scale youth brand that will help young Kenyans rise and take charge of their dreams, take different actions, and make better choices about their sexual health, economic prospects, and overall well-being to help them thrive, feel valued, and empowered to shape their futures.

This brand will come to life with content, music, and social and digital tools created to inspire, inform, equip, and prepare young people for the future. An entire ecosystem of products – that could range from social media content, web series, radio, drama, on-ground ambassadors, chatbots, a network of call center operators, murals, billboards, etc. – will live within this brand. The brand will connect to young people through multiple touchpoints, becoming an entity larger than the sum of its parts.

These touchpoints will be designed to reach our national-scale target audience where they are, forming an ecosystem around them that stays with them and propels their journey from awareness to engagement and contemplation to making positive choices about their health, education, and financial future.

Objective

As Girl Effect expands its multimedia ecosystem in Kenya, we envision TV drama playing a prominent role in our behavior change messaging for our target audience. We seek an experienced agency with expertise in producing youth-focused drama series rooted and resonant with the realities that young people in Kenya face to support drama series production.

What we are looking for

Girl Effect is looking for an experienced production house that will be responsible for the production, script writing, and post-production for one season of a drama series. This production house should have a creative and technical staff team to fulfill all our production needs. The production house/agency needs experience working on successful drama series productions in Kenya. It should be able to use existing best practices and tools for an efficient and effective production process. It is important to note that while the program’s core objectives are geared towards messaging on thematic areas around reproductive health and women’s economic empowerment, the tone of the drama series needs to remain entertaining and engaging, in keeping with the brand’s tonality.

Scope of Work

The production company would partner with Girl Effect to produce a branded youth-focused series rooted and resonant with the realities that young people in Kenya face. The series must embody the spirit of the times, with a premise authentic to contemporary youth culture.

The characters should be relatable, multi-layered, and complex. We follow them on a journey of self-discovery and change as they fail, forge friendships, find mentors and find mental resilience in their adulting journey.

The characters will negotiate through our behaviour change framework, modeling positive journeys for our audience.

Three areas of work include but are not limited to:

1**.** Development phase:

• Assembling the writer room (Consultation during the recruitment of writers)
• Work with a GE-appointed writing consultant
• Finalize the concept and get sign-off
• Review and feedback on scripts
• Setting up plans and processes for pre-production and production

2. Pre-production**:**

• Planning – Review and consult on the production schedule
• Casting – Conduct casting calls, select actors representing the target audience demographics and embody the characters’ traits and personalities as outlined in the concept development phase.
• Ensuring all the locations are locked before the shoot
• Template and process development
• Consultation during recruitment of creative team and HODs (Directors and LP, ADs, DPs, Production Designer)
• Document review and support – Approve script changes and oversee delivery of final shooting scripts
• Ensuring all the correct contracts have been signed by the cast and the crew
• Overseeing any additional preparation before scripts are finalized and pre-production starts – CTA’s, Social Media Content, Cast Interviews, etc
• Production Management: Oversee all aspects of production, including scheduling, budgeting, location scouting, and securing necessary permits.

1. Production Phase

• Provide all the necessary equipment to execute the TV series successfully.
• Provide studio and locations for shooting.
• Timely and on-budget delivery of agreed-upon deliverables
• Ensuring smooth setup of production processes, including weekly production meetings and templates.
• Troubleshooting and problem-solving for continued delivery
• Run a safe and compliant set and ensure that all stakeholders remain well-informed on the production process
• Compile progress reporting and be present at all production meetings
• Directing: Lead the direction of each episode, working closely with the cast and crew to ensure the vision of the series is realized on screen.
• Post-Production: Handle post-production tasks such as sound design, color correction, and visual effects to enhance the overall viewing experience.
• Promotion and Marketing: Collaborate with Girl Effect on promotional strategies to generate excitement and anticipation for the series among the target audience. This may include teaser trailers, social media clips, etc.

Expected Deliverables

• End-to-end production of 13 Episodes, each 23 minutes long. Including but not limited to:
• 30-second promo per episode plus three teaser spots. A total of 16 pieces
• Shorter cuts/shoulder content for each episode for Instagram reel and YouTube Shorts – a Total of 40 shorts/clips.
• Development of the story arc, storylines, and scripts for the season
• Graphics package & VFX
• Ensure that a senior and experienced team leads the production and can support where necessary.
• Ensuring industry-standard production quality
• Setting up smooth processes for final delivery
• Weekly reporting and status updates with the Girl Effect team
• Delivery of all raw footage, music stems used, SFX, and files to the GE team on HDD’s.
• Documentation, including concepts, scripts, briefs, etc
• Other documentation, including location or supporting cast releases, may be needed.
• Hiring and paying individuals who will be part of the series using our template contracts
• Scripting, filming, editing, and delivering full episode 13 episodes
• Delivery to the channel, including FCC and Music cue sheets
• Deliver season trailers (3) for marketing and episodic trailers ahead of time.
• Ensure the reinforcement message is included at the end of each episode.
• Provide monthly budget reports.
• Provide behind-the-scenes shots (pictures and some other short videos) materials for marketing and digital content.

Expected Commitment

• 6 -8 months – April 2024 until the end of November 2024

Location

The agency must be based or have substantive operations in Kenya and must be conducive to working with teams in the UK, Sub-Saharan Africa & India. The Assignment is to be carried out in Kenya.

Management

The agency will have a primary point of contact with our Create Team. The contract supervisor shall approve all deliverables submitted by the agency before any payment is made.

Procurement Timeframe

• Terms of reference published: 21st March
• Deadline for Questions/Clarifications: 27th March
• Deadline for responses from GE: 1st April
• Proposal submission: 8th April 2024
• Supplier selection, contracting, and briefing: Mid-April 2024
• Project commencement: End April 2024

Who You Are

Skills, Experience and Expertise:

• Credentials: You have expertise in producing long-format TV shows/dramas and have been in the industry for a significant time.
• Background: A diverse clientele for different industries, such as corporate clients, non-profit organizations (preferred), government agencies, and private individuals.
• Project Management: Ability to effectively manage projects, coordinate teams with diverse skill sets, ensure successful execution from start to finish, and have a strong work ethic to execute the project within the intended timeline with support from the GE team.
• Local Market Knowledge: Strong understanding of local trends, landscape, and cultural nuances to tailor creative outcomes that resonate with the target audience in the country you are working.
• Time and Budget Management: Proficiency in delivering the project on schedule and within budgetary constraints, ensuring efficient allocation of resources and adherence to financial targets.
• Creative Ideation: Skill to generate innovative and unique ideas aligned with our objectives and target audience(girls and women), fostering creativity and pushing boundaries to deliver outstanding creative work. You will have a proven ability to work with subject matter experts and ‘translate’ their expertise into appropriate content for the target audience.
• Multi-platform Expertise: Proficiency in creating content for various communities (small and large). Experience in health-related content/Behavior change content production in the field of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights would be a massive bonus.
• Branding and Storytelling: Capability to craft compelling narratives and storytelling techniques that effectively communicate the Girl Effect message, create emotional connections, and build brand loyalty.
• Collaboration and Teamwork: Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with clients, creative teams, copywriters, and stakeholders to bring ideas to life, fostering a collaborative and productive work environment.
• Language: Effective communicator and writer in English and Kiswahili, Sheng, able to synthesize, communicate, and simplify complex language concepts per the needs of girls and young women.
• Safeguarding: Experience working with young adults and understanding of policies involved when working with minors.

Attitudes we are looking for:

• Teams comfortable with complex organizational structures and multiple stakeholders
• Comfortable with shared decision-making
• A team that makes informed decisions and takes actions
• Enthusiastic about working with, talking to, and interacting with people across cultures and geographies – this work will require extensive conversations, presentations, documentation, and fire-fighting
• Highly empathetic and context-sensitive – able to balance conflicting needs and priorities decisively
• Mission-driven and cares about making a difference in young people’s lives and society’s vulnerable sections.

Proposal Submission

Your proposal, should you be interested (Max 20 pages excluding script sample), should cover the following:

Technical Proposal

• Your understanding of the brief and why you feel you are well-placed to advise us on this. It would be a definite plus if you could demonstrate previous experience in having produced comedy or drama series.
• Content
  • A brief synopsis of their creative idea – just as a reference for how they would approach drama in this landscape.
  • Controlling idea, dramatic question, premise, logline and a statement of intent
  • 10 pages of sample dialogue/script – can be from previous production
  • Series creative treatment and visual approach
  • Cast suggestions aligned with Wazzii brand positioning and core target audience
• Credential/Profile/CV
  • Production companies must prove their capacity to produce the series as captured in the evaluation criteria.
  • Key Creatives must demonstrate relevant experience in the scripting and production of long-form drama and or comedy series.
  • 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.
  • Must have a minimum of 3 years experience in producing long-form drama
  • Crew credentials
  • Production house showreel.
• Your Preliminary Creative ideas that can help land the key messages with our audience – we will support your team in scripting, but we are keen on understanding disruptive and engaging story-telling ideas that can help carry the weight of the messaging.
• Approach – How would you approach making sure that we produce a youth series that cuts through the noise and stands above the rest of the dramas that dominate the Kenyan landscape
• Production schedule – Incorporate a detailed work plan with a timeline for the implementation in the proposal. This includes a preliminary list of the crew, equipment and board location suggestions.
• Reference – Provide at least three references for similar contracts with a description of the service provided and the contract periods of performance.

Financial Proposal

• Breakdown of all Costs, including development, scripting and production,with applicable taxes and other charges clearly identified in KES.
• Agencies should provide their daily or hourly billing rate or their proposed fixed fee for the requested deliverables.
  • All applicable taxes should be quoted separately;

NOTE: There will be a briefing session before the commencement of work for the selected production partner, which will include details on what’s above and more to help give insight into the topics on which the partner will be expected to deliver messaging.

Evaluation Criteria

The criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are listed below:

Technical Evaluation

• Interpretation and understanding of this TOR – 10%
• Showcases relevant experience in having done previous similar work with relevant agencies or organizations. Share your profile, credentials, and CV. Share the team profile. – 10 %
• Geographical Experience in Kenya -10%
• Creativity and Innovation in Conceptualization ideas-10%
• Track Record of meeting Deadlines – 5%
• Technical Proficiency and Production Equipment -5%
• Evidence of a minimum of three contactable references – 10%
• Links to work produced by the Production house/agency. Production quality, efficiency & production process demonstrated. . – 20%

Financial Evaluation

• Value for money/proposed budget breakdown – 20%

Technical and Financial proposals will need to be submitted as separate documents. Financial bids will not be opened until the technical evaluation and only for those proposals deemed qualified and responsive. The budget breakdown needs to have all the lines required for this level of production, even if the numbers may not be specified and the budget may be at a high level.

Please note that Girl Effect is not liable for any cost 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 Girl Effect.

The proposal’s validity shall be 90 days from the bid closure date. The Proposals shall be prepared in English Language.

Tax

Girl Effect is obliged by the Kenyan tax authorities to withhold taxes on service contract fees as well as ensure that 16% VAT, is charged where applicable. Applicants are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position regarding provisions of Kenya tax legislation when developing their proposals.

Copyright

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

Disclaimer

GE reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, the number of short-listed 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 ONLY successful applicant(s). The process of negotiation and signing of the contract with the successful applicant(s) will follow.

Safeguarding

You may be required to undertake safeguarding checks. The successful applicant will be expected to adhere to our safeguarding and data policies. 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.

Equal Opportunities

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

We are committed to building an organization that is increasingly representative of, and works extensively with, the communities that we serve. To this end, due regard will be paid to procuring consultancy service organizations and individuals with diverse professional, academic and cultural backgrounds.

How to apply

Please submit proposals, as described above, to Girl Effect’s procurement team (suppliers@girleffect.org) by the 8th April 2024, at 5.30 pm EAT. Please mark your email with the subject line, ‘‘KE TV Drama Production House/Agency”.’

Questions/Clarifications

If you have any questions about this RFP, please email suppliers@girleffect.orgby 27th March. All questions will be answered and shared through an FAQ.