Consultant - Do No Harm at Mercy Corps

Reporting Line: The Consultant will report primarily to Chief of Party, CIPP

Purpose / Project Description

• Mercy Corps plans to Improve linkages between conflict mitigation and development initiatives in Nigeria, with a specific focus in areas with USAID Nigeria mission programs.
• Building on a range of conflict sensitivity and Do No Harmtrainings conducted for USAID Mission staff and Implementing Partners delivered by Mercy Corps in 2018/2019 - including programs in the Economic Growth and Environment, Health, Agriculture, WASH, Education, and HIV/AIDs portfolios etc. Mercy Corps plans a suite of activities designed to:
  • Expose Mission and sector program leadership to key conflict trends across the country and strategies for both conflict sensitivity and addressing root causes of conflict; and
  • Build the capacity of key sector programs to analyze their conflict context, ensure that sector programs do not exacerbate tensions, and identify and act on opportunities to harness sector programs to build positive relationships between conflicting groups and address root causes of conflict.

Consultancy Summary

• We seek a highly motivated individual/team who believe deeply in Mercy Corps’ organizational mission and can display a record of results and achievements, providing programs with technical guidance and support to Integrate Do No Harm and other conflict mitigation principles into selected mission activities.
• The sessions intend to build conflict sensitivity awareness and capacity among Mission staff and COPs of USAID Mission sectoral programs (Peace and Democratic Governance; Economic Growth and Environment; Health, Population, and Nutrition; and Education) through conflict sensitivity exposure, mainstreaming and application workshops.
• The workshops will provide participants with extensive knowledge and practice of the conflict sensitivity core concepts, learn how to design and implement conflict-sensitive development programs, and learn how to apply and train others to mainstream conflict sensitivity into their programs.

Deliverables:

• He/she will be responsible for the production and adaptation of all training materials that will be used for the Do No Harm workshop in close consultation with Mercy Corps program staff.
• The Consultant(s) will serve as the lead trainer at the workshop.
• He/she will provide technical support in the form of step-by-step guidance for subsequent follow-up coaching and mentoring sessions with US Mission staff and COPs of USAID sectoral programs from the workshop.
• A clear plan of action (work plan) and a brief concept note on how the assignment will be carried out within three days of signing the consultancy agreement.

Conflict Assessment Survey:

• Design and conduct survey for all stakeholders in USAID Mission sectoral activities, including implementing partners and local communities to determine:
  • Existing knowledge level of conflict sensitivity among staff,
  • Extent to which mission sectoral activities are conflict-sensitive,
  • Specific conflict sensitivity programming needs and
  • Level of knowledge of local communities on conflict sensitivity to support future programming.
• The survey analysis and results will inform training design and will be shared with USAID and implementing partners to inform how they tailor activities to ensure conflict sensitivity and to target development interventions in ways that will address structural or proximate drivers of conflict.
• The Consultant with support from Mercy Corps team members, is expected to share an assessment report and facilitate a presentation to share findings.
• Develop training materials with close support from Mercy Corps team that can be easily adapted to suit specific community needs. ALL training materials developed will subsequently become the property of Mercy Corps.
• Conflict sensitivity capacity building: Build conflict sensitivity awareness and capacity among USAID Mission sectoral programs through conflict sensitivity exposure, mainstreaming and application workshops.
• Conflict sensitivity exposure workshop: The consultant will conduct up to 3 conflict sensitivity exposure workshop for Mission staff and COPs of USAID sectoral programs (Peace and Democratic Governance; Economic Growth and Environment; Health, Population, and Nutrition; and Education). The workshop will cover key conflict trends and drivers, conflict sensitivity principles, and guidance about how to tailor development programs to address root causes of conflict.
• Workshop objectives: Expose participants to conflict sensitivity core concepts in context, explore conflict sensitivity implications for USAID sectoral areas, identify which staff members should attend the Training of Trainers (TOTs).
• # and duration: 1-2 exposure workshops, 1 day in-person or 3, 3-hour sessions online over 3 days.
• Participants: 25-30, Mission staff and COPs of USAID sectoral programs.
• Conflict sensitivity training of trainers: The consultant will conduct 2 ToTs with Mercy Corps staff, USAID staff and IP staff from six geopolitical zones. Topics will include conflict trends and drivers in the target zone, guidance for conduct of context analysis, and a deep dive into the Do No Harm framework. The ToTs will enhance participant capacity to implement conflict-sensitive programs and train others on how to mainstream conflict sensitivity into development programs.
• Workshop objectives: Participants will do a deep, practical dive into conflict sensitivity core concepts, learn how to design and implement conflict-sensitive development programs, and learn how to train others to mainstream conflict sensitivity into their programs.
• # and duration: 2 ToTs, 5 days in person.
• Participants: 15 per training, max 20, USAID Mission staff and Mercy Corps staff (representing 3 geopolitical zones per trainings starting with NW and North Central zones targeted by CIPP OR divided by sectoral areas)
• Develop a final report with recommendations and the next plan of action

Consultancy Outcomes:

• From the exposure and ToT workshops, the participants should:
• Gain an understanding of key conflict trends and drivers.
• Recognize conflict sensitivity principles, and guidance about how to tailor development programs to address the root causes of conflict.
• Increase their capacity to effectively implement conflict-sensitive programs and train others on how to mainstream conflict sensitivity into development programs.
• Receive a clear picture of the risks and threats both nationally and at a local level
• Develop knowledge and confidence on how to tackle key issues.

Basic Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required

• Minimum of a Master's Degree in Conflict / Peace Studies, International Development, Law or related field required with training certification in conflict sensitivity
• Minimum of Three (3) years of progressively responsible experience working on conflict sensitivity and do no harm capacity building trainings and approaches within community and civil society development programs, preferably with USAID or other U.S. Government programs.
• Technical expertise in conflict analysis, political economy analysis, trend analysis, or other relevant analytical tools
• Sectoral knowledge in conflict management/peacebuilding and governance
• Strong participatory facilitation skills and cultural sensitivity
• Experience designing and delivering assessment design and planning workshop
• Knowledge of Nigeria’s conflict context and constraints on the ground preferred
• Excellent writing and analytical skills
• Fluency in English with expert-level report writing capabilities.

The Mercy Corps Team will provide to the extent possible, assistance and support to the Consultant. They will also make available required and relevant documentation and reports. In addition, the Consultant will maintain follow up and regular meetings (where possible) with the Mercy Corps team, during the various stages of the step-down training.

Duration / Timeframe:

• The anticipated length of this work is approximately 2 months based on how the COVID-19 Pandemic evolves.
• A flexible timeline is anticipated, but consideration is for analysis/conflict assessment and development of training tools to kick off immediately.

The intended start date is 8th February, 2021 with end date 4th April, 2021 (2 Months). The Consultant will engage in the following activities and others as required:

• 4-9 February, 2021: Draft and agree on a work plan, Concept note, KII, FGD questions and methodology.
• 10-15 February, 2021:Mercy Corps/Consultant to agree on draft KII/FGD tools
• 22-26 February, 2021: Submission of conflict sensitivity assessment survey & presentation to MC & USAID
• 1-12 March, 2021: Conduct three one-day exposure workshops
• 15 March – 02 April, 2021:Conduct two five-day ToTs for Mission Staff, MC focal persons, USAID IPs.

Work closely with Community Initiatives to Promote Peace (CIPP) Program & M&E Team