Photography Consultants

This job posting includes assignments for three (3) cities: Dire Dawa (Ethiopia), Kigali (Rwanda) and Johannesburg (South Africa).

Background

The Scaling Urban Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Climate Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SUNCASA) is a 3-year project aiming at enhancing climate resilience and promoting gender equality, social inclusion, and biodiversity protection across three cities: Dire Dawa (Ethiopia), Kigali (Rwanda) and Johannesburg (South Africa).

Led by the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the World Resources Institute, and implemented in partnership with local organizations and communities, SUNCASA seeks to address climate change impacts—such as floods, landslides, and soil erosion—through gender-responsive and socially inclusive NbS. These include afforestation, reforestation, agroforestry, urban greening, the removal of invasive alien species, and the creation of vegetated buffer zones in flood-prone areas.

The SUNCASA project was designed with a clear mandate of reducing barriers to the participation of women and other underrepresented groups in planning, implementing, and monitoring urban NbS. To achieve this, the project prioritizes the challenging of social and cultural norms while equipping women and other underrepresented groups with skills and knowledge to enhance their meaningful participation in climate adaptation and NbS policy-making.

Overview of the Community Angles Initiative

Meaningful participation of women and other underrepresented individuals on the frontlines of climate change is essential to ensuring gender-responsive, socially inclusive, and locally led climate adaptation actions—particularly NbS.

SUNCASA’s Community Angles initiative offers an opportunity for these groups to amplify their voices and strengthen their agency through photography, storytelling, and advocacy.

Community Angles harnesses the democratizing power of image-making to enable participants to document and share their own realities. Through photography, they can determine how best to represent the social, political, ethical, and psychological challenges they face, and communicate their experiences in an authentic and impactful way.

Grounded in principles of photojournalism and international development, Community Angles will leverage photography’s accessibility and inclusiveness to create a dynamic and creative learning experience. It aims to strengthen the capacity of historically marginalized communities to express themselves, engage in communication and advocacy activities, and influence climate and development policy-making processes.

Community Angles will culminate in an exhibition and dialogue event connecting trainees with local and national decision-makers, where participants will present their work and share perspectives on climate adaptation, NbS, and the impacts of climate change in their communities.

This document outlines the scope, objectives, and deliverables for engaging a photojournalism consultant to prepare and deliver the in-person workshops and support the coordination of the participant exhibition.

Objectives of the Assignment

The objective of this consultancy is to design and deliver photography workshops based on the Participatory Photography methodology. The consultant will guide participants through photo assignments, support image editing and selection, and assist in organizing a final exhibition targeting local decision-makers.

Co-delivered by SUNCASA’s Communications and gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) teams, the activity aims to build photography, storytelling, and advocacy skills among women and underrepresented individuals from local GESI organizations and communities.

Working closely with SUNCASA’s Communications team, the consultant will design and implement a 3-day hands-on workshop—including a field photo trip—and a follow-up session to review participants’ assignments. Learning modules will cover key aspects of visual literacy and photography, such as style and composition, framing, lighting, camera operation, and informed consent. Examples from African and climate-focused photographers should be incorporated.

The consultant will also support participants in editing and selecting photographs for an exhibition event and assist in the coordination of this event, targeting local decision-makers.

Non-photography modules will be delivered in collaboration with SUNCASA’s Communications and GESI teams, as well as representatives from the project’s local partners.

Tasks and Deliverables

The consultant will be responsible for implementing all stages of the Community Angles initiative as outlined below:

Component 1: Preparation and Customization

• Attend a virtual training-of-trainers workshop on Participatory Photography methodology, its inclusive approach and exercises designed to develop visual literacy and photography skills.
• Participate in one-on-one sessions with the SUNCASA Communications team to tailor the training.

Deliverable 1: Submit an inception report demonstrating understanding of the Participatory Photography methodology and outlining the proposed approach for the in-person workshops. It should include a summarized training plan for each module, customized according to the participants’ visual literacy and photography skill levels.

Component 2: Workshop Delivery

• Deliver, with the support of a co-facilitator, a 3-day hands-on photography workshop in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, including a photo trip.
• Facilitate exercises, provide real-time feedback, and conduct daily recaps.

Deliverable 2: Detailed training agenda, facilitation plan, and workshop materials, including a workplan and timeline.

Component 3: Follow-Up and Editing Session

• Conduct a half-day follow-up session to review photos, introduce basic editing techniques, and guide participants in selecting images for the exhibition.

Deliverable 3: Conduct the follow-up session using copyright-free editing software; assist participants in finalizing 7–10 photographs for large-format printing and exhibition.

Component 4: Exhibition and Dialogue Event

• Support the organization of a half-day exhibition and dialogue event bringing participants together with decision-makers, civil society, the private sector, and media representatives.
• Facilitate interactions and discussions around participants’ stories and photographs.

Deliverable 4: Assist in organizing and implementing the exhibition, including coordination of promotional materials, media engagement, photo displays, and participants’ statements.

Component 5: Evaluation and Reporting

• Conduct a final evaluation of the pilot phase and provide recommendations for future iterations.

Deliverable 5: Final report (to be submitted within 1 month of the exhibition) summarizing activities, participant feedback, lessons learned, and recommendations.

Assignment

The photographer-trainer will be the key person interacting with the trainees, working in close collaboration with SUNCASA’s Communications and GESI teams, as well as the project’s local partners. Key activities of the assignment are detailed in the full TOR along with the estimated level of effort

For all deliverables, the estimated time requirement is 15 days over an estimated period of 3 months. The consultant will work closely with SUNCASA’s Communications and GESI teams, as well as its local GESI partners, on all activities.

Read the full Terms of Reference

Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

Kigali, Rwanda

Johannesburg, South Africa

Required Qualifications

• Proven expertise in photojournalism and climate or environmental photography
• Demonstrated experience designing and conducting photography workshops
• Familiarity with point-and-shoot camera operations
• Understanding of climate change adaptation, NbS, and GESI
• Experience working with vulnerable and underrepresented communities
• Rwanda: Strong communication skills in English and Kinyarwanda (knowledge of French is an asset)
• Ethiopia: Strong communication skills in English and Amharic (knowledge of Afaan Oromo is an asset)
• South Africa: Strong communication skills in English (knowledge of Zulu is an asset)

Location

On-site. Applicants should be based in Ethiopia, Rwanda and South Africa.  IISD will not be applying for residency, and work permits for this position on behalf of the applicant.

Candidates must hold appropriate work authorization for locations where they expect to be based.

Reporting

• For contractual matters, the consultant will report to SUNCASA’s Operations team.
• For technical matters, the consultant will work closely with SUNCASA’s Communications and GESI teams and local GESI partners.

Application deadline: December 5, 2025

Application Process

All applications must be submitted in English.

To apply for this consultancy, please send:

• A cover letter and resume (maximum two pages)
• Your daily rate in USD and proof of rate (e.g., a copy of a previous contract of at least 20 days specifying the daily rate)
• A link to an online portfolio or photo album showcasing your photography work

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