Consultant - BHA Consortium Baseline and Context Analysis Survey at the International Rescue Committee (IRC)

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

We are recruiting to fill the position below

Job Title: Consultant - BHA Consortium Baseline and Context Analysis Survey

Requisition ID: req27124
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Sector: Education
Employment Category: Regular
Employment Type: Full-Time
Open to Expatriates: No

Baseline Summary
Project Name:

• Integrated Emergency, Recovery and Resilience Response for Crisis-affected Persons in MMC and Jere LGAs, Borno State, Nigeria

Target Locations:

• MMC and Jere LGAs, Borno State

Project Goal:

• Conflict-affected communities in MMC and Jere LGAs are sustainably protected from, and treated for, the main causes of morbidity and mortality; supported to meet immediate and long-term Shelter and Settlement, WASH and Protection needs, while being protected and provided with the legal assistance they need

Project Unique Beneficiaries:

• 493,027 (261,145F, 232,280M)

Partners and Sectors:

• IRC – Health, Nutrition, Protection, WASH
• DRC – Protection, Food assistance, ERDS
• NRC – WASH, Protection, Shelter and Settlements, MPCA

Project Lifespan:

• 24 months

Baseline Start and End Dates:

• Start date: 9th May 2022
• End date: 10th June 2022

Description of Project

• The intervention, supported by BHA and implemented by a consortium led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in partnership with Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), aims to leverage the expertise of each partner to deliver a multi-sectoral, area-based response in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) and Jere LGAs, Borno State, by providing integrated services across the following sectors: Health, WASH, Nutrition, Food Assistance, Multi-purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA), Economic Recovery and Market Systems (ERMS), Protection and Shelter and Settlements.
• The consortium aims to meet the most immediate and lifesaving needs of IDPs, host communities and returnees in MMC and Jere, as well as addressing ongoing, protracted needs, and supporting early recovery through capacity-building, the strengthening of existing health systems and community-based structures, and increasing the ownership of lifesaving, life-sustaining, and life-building services by local authorities, service providers, and local communities to ensure sustainability.
• In order to build the resilience of individuals and communities, the unique humanitarian and development challenges in MMC and Jere LGAs (presence of service delivery actors juxtaposed against an ongoing flux of IDPs in and out of camps and host communities throughout the city) must be addressed simultaneously by increasing access to quality, sustainable basic services, building sustainable livelihoods, and strengthening local systems and structures. 
• The project’s main goal is that “Conflict-affected communities in MMC and Jere LGAs are sustainably protected from, and treated for, the main causes of morbidity and mortality; supported to meet immediate and long-term Shelter and Settlement, WASH and Protection needs, while being protected and provided with the legal assistance they need”.  To achieve this goal, three purposes were described:

Purpose 1: 

• Conflict-affected communities in MMC and Jere LGAs are sustainably protected from, and treated for, the main causes of morbidity and mortality, while being protected and provided with the support they need (psychosocial support, case management, legal referral, etc.)

Purpose 2:

• The most vulnerable populations (IDPs and host communities are supported through immediate lifesaving assistance (food assistance), before being transitioned into long term economic recovery and development

Purpose 3:

• IDPs (including new arrivals) and host communities are supported through the construction and rehabilitation of both temporary and long-term shelter, and the quick provision of multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA)

Context Analysis Purpose and Objectives

• One of the primary goals of this assignment is to support the consortium to establish an intimate understanding of intervention locations and their unique contexts.
• This analysis will help the Consortium to outline community power dynamics, existing service provision, and diverse needs and preferences on programming approaches, including a “Do No Harm” analysis.  Additionally, the assessment should include a visual mapping of service delivery points, hazard risk locations, and community landmarks within the area boundaries.

Baseline Purpose and Objectives

• The main purpose of the assignment is to establish baseline figures for the interventions key indicators that do not have a baseline yet. This will enable the intervention to monitor progress against the set figures.
• The assignment will also establish the pre-intervention status of each of the sectors listed in the methodology below to guide the consortium planning, implementation and strategic decision making.
• Provide recommendations on specific areas of focus that will guide the project planning, implementation and decision making based on the findings from the baseline.

Methodology
The context analysis should establish a firm understanding of the following topics:

• Existing Service Delivery: Utilizing participatory mapping processes, the analysis will establish an understanding of existing essential services available to communities within the intervention locations by government, community, or humanitarian actors.
• The analysis will map service delivery actors and their capacities, service delivery locations, and current issues around service access disaggregated by population groups. 
• The baseline list of indicators below presents the indicators for which baseline information needs to be collected:

The context analysis and baseline assessment will focus particularly on selected targeted communities of MMC and Jere LGAs of Maiduguri where the BHA Consortium project will be implemented. List of selected communities is highlighted in the table below.

• The consultant is expected to propose and design the methodology for conducting the context analysis and baseline survey within the timeframe.
• Though proposed in the expression of interest, this will be discussed and agreed upon with the consortium at the beginning of the consultancy. A mix of qualitative and quantitative methods such as surveys, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with key informants, and observation methods will be used to collect primary data. Surveys and interviews are expected to take place at all project locations.
• Secondary data can also be used to update some indicators that already have data to leverage on. However, the methodology should ensure that the respondents are representative of diversity that includes gender, age, people with disabilities, etc.

Sampling:

• The consultant will implement a sampling procedure which is representative of the project target population. It is important that the baseline achieves a statistically acceptable sample size for the respective project participant categories. The consultant will develop and abide by the sampling methodology.

Activities and Responsibility

Deliverables

• An inception report/proposal which responds to the scope of work by adding any further detail or clarification regarding the study approach, method, or implementation arrangements as per the terms of reference. This includes a detailed description of the assessment, including the overall design, sampling framework, data collection tools, data sources, data analysis plan, quality assurance criteria, limitations, and a work plan for the implementation of the assessment.
• Completion of quantitative and qualitative inquiries with key stakeholders (survey, interviews, existing secondary data, etc.)
• Produce baseline values for the key indicators
• Draft of the baseline report: its design, analysis, findings, limitations, references, data collection tools and any other information to inform and support the baseline findings and context analysis (including existing service delivery and community power dynamics/do no harm as outlined above). Report should be no more than 40 pages in length, excluding annexes.
• Final report that should include all the components of the first draft and addressing all comments, edits and observations from the review of the first draft. Report should be no more than 40 pages in length, excluding annexes.
• Summary of the final report (max 5 pages) targeting at stakeholders from different background (simple and straight forward).
• 2 hours online workshop to present the baseline to the consortium stakeholders (max 20 pax).

Qualifications
Consultant Profile:

• To the greatest extent possible, the consultant should have experience in multi-sectoral programs.
• The consultant must have extensive experience in evaluating Water and Sanitation Hygiene, Protection, Multipurpose Cash Assistance, Economic Recovery and Market Assistance, Nutrition, Health, Shelter and Settlements programs, especially conflict and/or post conflict settings. Preferably, the consultants also have a substantial knowledge of the context dynamic of the Northeast Nigeria.

Baseline Expression of Interest

• The IRC welcomes expressions of interest from seasoned consultants, individuals or firms in academia, social research, or humanitarian evaluation with a background in humanitarian aid, research methods, development economics, development studies, or other related fields.

The Lead Consultants Should Possess

• Master’s degree or higher in development, international relations or humanitarian work.
• Extensive experience in conducting evaluations along OECD evaluation criteria, ideally leading an evaluation team and experience of designing evaluation methodology / tools and data analysis.
• A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in research and or evaluations of health and humanitarian assistance programmes
• Experience of working or evaluating projects in insecure humanitarian environment.
• In-depth knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods
• Excellent analytical, presentation and writing skills in English.

Timeframe

• This consultancy assignment is anticipated to start May 9, 2022. The entire exercise will last between 25-30 days including final report submission. The deadline for submission of the inception and financial proposals and accompanying documents is April 22, 2022. Expression of interest applications should include:
• Technical proposal with clear understanding and interpretation of the ToR, including detailed tasks, recommended methodology summary and proposed schedule, relevant experience, how you meet the profile required and details of time required (maximum 5 pages)
• Financial proposal, including daily professional fee and any other associated costs for the assignment. The consultant should itemize all costs for the duration of assignment, lumped up costs will not be accepted in the financial proposal. IRC will only cover field related costs while in-country. All costs need to be clearly stated in the bid submission.

Project Unique Beneficiaries

• USD 493,027 (261,145F, 232,280M)

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Applications to: nghr.consultantsapplications@rescue.org using the job title as the subject of the mail.

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