Jordan: Consultancy - Technical Expert Protection For the Evaluation of the Occupied Palestine Territories UNRWA Emergency Response

CONSULTANCY - TERMS OF REFERENCE

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance. UNRWA is the largest UN operation in the Middle East with more than 30,000 staff. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.

Consultancy - Technical Expert Protection

For the Evaluation of the Occupied Palestine Territories UNRWA Emergency Response

BACKGROUND

In September 2000, with the start of the second Intifada, the conflict in the Occupied Palestine Territories (oPt) intensified. Palestine refugees were increasingly afflicted by violence, restrictions on movement, and fewer job opportunities. In 2006, after the elections in the oPt, the socioeconomic status of Palestine refugees in Gaza was further affected as donors withheld funds from the Palestinian Authority (PA), Israel suspended tax transfers and access restrictions were stepped up. Restrictions on Gaza intensified further following Hamas’s take-over of that part of the oPt in June 2007, leading to the imposition of a land, sea and air blockade and a political divide between Hamas in Gaza and the PA in the West Bank. They have produced considerable increases in unemployment and poverty in Gaza and deterioration in public service provision. In Gaza several conflicts with Israel have taken place during 2008-2009, 2012 and 2014 each resulting in the destruction of infrastructure, the displacement of Palestine refugees and further economic pressure on Gaza.

In response to the protracted crisis and the additional humanitarian needs in oPt, UNRWA launched more than 20 appeals over the past 17 years, requesting over USD 4 billion. In response to these appeals, UNRWA received an estimated USD 2.5 billion from humanitarian donors. The overall objective of the appeals is to save lives, alleviate suffering and maintain human dignity and rights. The three main objectives of the appeals were (a) to increase the level of food security among Palestine refugees, (b) to stabilize access to basic services, and (c) to provide protection from conflict. Key elements of assistance have been food, cash, shelter and infrastructure construction, education, health, job creation, and psychosocial services and protection. Appeals have also called for financial support to enable UNRWA to carry out its humanitarian operations safety, securely, efficiently and effectively. The activities provided under the emergency appeals take into consideration that the humanitarian and political situation in the oPt is both protracted and complex, making it necessary to provide services that complement the regular services of UNRWA in those two fields.

The Evaluation

In accordance with the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) Norms and Standards (2016), this evaluation has a dual purpose of accountability and learning. It will, on the one hand, support accountability towards UNRWA’s beneficiaries and donors for the over USD 2 billion spent on emergency responses in the oPt over the years 2006-2016; on the other, the evaluation will generate findings, lessons and recommendations to assist UNRWA in improving its response to the on-going oPt emergency and to other emergencies that UNRWA may encounter in the future.

Scope of the Evaluation

The evaluation will determine, as systematically and objectively as possible, the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, coverage, impact and connectedness of UNRWA’s emergency response in the oPt. The evaluation will incorporate gender and human rights perspectives throughout all stages of the evaluation. (See UNEG guidance: ‘Integrating Human Rights and Gender Equality in Evaluations’. http://www.unevaluation.org/document/detail/1616.). The evaluation will cover the emergency response between the years 2006 and 2016 with an emphasis on “regular” emergency appeals touching on the sudden onset emergency response more lightly.

Organization

The evaluation will be conducted by a team of experts including a team leader (UNRWA evaluation staff), a Protection Expert, a livelihoods expert (UNRWA evaluation staff) and evaluation officer (UNRWA evaluation staff). The Protection Expert will assist the evaluation team leader to carry out the relevant tasks of the evaluation. (S)he will provide technical inputs on protection related matters. The Team Leader will be responsible to coordinate the work of the evaluation team and will manage the work of the Protection Expert.

The methodology of this evaluation is outlined in the background paper of this evaluation which will be made available to the Protection Expert together with other relevant background documents. The team leader, with support from the Protection Expert, will present preliminary results and the final report.

Description of Duties and Responsibilities

1. UNRWA expects the following deliverables from the Protection Expert:

• Technical inputs on protection related matters, including a review of good practices and gathering information related to protection in line with the Inter Agency Standing Committee policy on Protection in Humanitarian Action;

• Qualitative data collection tools (interviews and focus group discussions) that ensure safe and ethical information collection;

• Briefing notes for internal dissemination within evaluation team (to share information on data collected, analysis and findings);

• Drafting of relevant sections of evaluation report.

• Assisting the evaluation team leader in designing evaluation instruments that are gender sensitive, and assist the team leader with other relevant tasks, as appropriate.

1. The Protection Expert is expected to answer the protection aspect of the following evaluation questions that have been identified in the ToR of the evaluation. The full ToR of the evaluation will be shared with the successful candidate:

• How consistent is the emergency response with the overall strategy and programmes of UNRWA and those of donors?

• Are protection, gender and human rights issues in line with United Nations guidelines and procedures? Have the Sphere standards been appropriately taken into account?

• How efficiently (considering timelines and funding) has the emergency response delivered activities and outputs?

• Have relevant alternatives been considered in the delivery of services?

• To what extent have internal monitoring efforts been able to support efficient delivery of emergency services?

• To what extent has the emergency response achieved its planned results?

• What were the major factors contributing to achievement or non-achievement of results?

• To what extent has the humanitarian assistance system contributed to the achievement of the emergency response objectives?

• To what extent was the emergency response able to support the additional needs of Palestine refugees?

• Has the emergency response ensured inclusion, participation and fair power relations (considering gender, age, socio-economic status etc.)?

• What impact has the emergency response had in terms of ‘saving lives, alleviating suffering and maintaining human dignity and rights’?

• How has the situation of men, women, boys, girls, special needs groups changed as a result of UNRWA’s emergency response?

• Have there been any unintended consequences (positive or negative) of the emergency response?

• How flexible has UNRWA been in responding to the changing situation in the oPt?

• How did the implementation of specific emergency appeals’ interventions affect the design / planning of subsequent emergency appeals?

• To what extent did the emergency response affect the planning of UNRWA’s regular programming? To what extent were UNRWA’s emergency response and regular programming complementing each other?

• To what extent did the emergency response take into account the programmes’ structure and capacity?

minimum Qualifications and Experience

• An advanced university degree from an accredited educational institution in law, international law, social sciences, humanitarian affairs, human rights, political affairs, international relations, or a related field;

• At least eight years of relevant work experience, in the fields of protection and/or human rights;

• Previous experience in research and/or evaluation;

• Previous exposure to key protection concerns faced by Palestine refugees in the region;

• Proven knowledge of protection concerns in emergencies;

• Excellent verbal and written English language skills.

Competencies

• Excellent communication skills, with demonstrated ability to tailor language, style and format to match audience;

• Excellent research and data collection skills;

• Excellent organizational skills, independent and disciplined with initiative;

• Ability to work under pressure, to prioritize effectively and to maintain accountability;

• Ability to work collaboratively and effectively in a multicultural environment;

• Ability to deal with clients with dignity, respect and confidentiality.

dESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

• Good command of spoken Arabic language;

• Ability to travel to Jordan.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Ability to travel to West Bank and Gaza UNRWA field offices.

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

• The consultant is expected to work for 40 consultant days.

• The earliest starting date for the assignment will be mid February 2017.

• Remuneration for this consultancy will depend on the qualifications and experience of the consultant and it will be a lump sum at the submission of technical inputs, subject to approval by the evaluation team leader and the Department of Internal Oversight Services.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applicants should submit a cover letter and CV or UN Personal History Form demonstrating clearly the knowledge and experience required to meet the consultancy requirements via consultancy@unrwa.org indicating the title of this consultancy “Technical Expert Protection” in the subject line of the message. The deadline for the submission of applications is 11 January 2017 (late applications will not be considered).

UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both qualified and experienced women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from female candidates. Only those applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking work environment.

Applicants should submit a cover letter and CV or UN Personal History Form demonstrating clearly the knowledge and experience required to meet the consultancy requirements via consultancy@unrwa.org indicating the title of this consultancy “Technical Expert Protection” in the subject line of the message. The deadline for the submission of applications is 11 January 2017 (late applications will not be considered).

UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both qualified and experienced women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from female candidates. Only those applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking work environment.