Jordan: Re-advertised Consultancy: PROTECTION EXPERT, AMMAN

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.

Re-advertised Consultancy:PROTECTION EXPERT, AMMAN

“Evaluation of UNRWA’s emergency response in the oPt”

BACKGROUND

In September 2000, with the start of the second Intifada, the conflict in the occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt) intensified. Palestine refugees were increasingly afflicted by violence, restrictions on movement and fewer job opportunities. In 2006, following the elections in the oPt, the socioeconomic status of Palestine refugees in Gaza deteriorated further as donors withheld funds from the Palestinian Authority (PA), Israel suspended tax transfers and stepped up access restrictions. Following Hamas’s take-over of Gaza in June 2007, restrictions intensified, 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. This caused increasing unemployment and poverty levels and deterioration in public service provision. In Gaza several conflicts with Israel have taken place over the years 2008-2009, 2012 and 2014, each resulting in the destruction of infrastructure, the displacement of Palestine refugees and further economic pressure on its population.

In response to the protracted crisis and the additional humanitarian needs in the 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 has been to save lives, alleviate suffering and maintain human dignity and rights. The three main objectives of the appeals were to: (a) increase the level of food security among Palestine refugees, (b) stabilize access to basic services and (c) provide protection from conflict. Key elements of assistance have included food, cash, shelter and infrastructure construction, education, healthcare, job creation, 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 implemented under the emergency appeals take into consideration that the humanitarian and political situation in the oPt is both protracted and complex in nature, making it necessary to provide services that complement the regular services of UNRWA in the two fields.

The evaluation

UNRWA’s Evaluation Division is conducting an evaluation of UNRWA’s emergency response in Gaza and West Bank over the period 2006-present. The objective of the exercise is to determine, as systematically and objectively as possible, the relevance/appropriateness, efficiency, effectiveness, coverage, impact and connectedness of UNRWA’s emergency response in the oPt. The evaluation will contribute to the 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 as well as to emergencies to come.

The evaluation will adopt a mixed-method approach to answer the research questions outlined in the evaluation’s ToRs, including both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. It will incorporate gender and human rights perspectives throughout all stages of the evaluation.

UNRWA’s Evaluation Division is looking for a protection expert to join the evaluation team. The team comprises the Division’s Chief (evaluation team leader) and two evaluation officers.

Description of Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of the Evaluation Division, and guided by the evaluation questions outlined in the evaluation ToRs, the protection expert will be responsible for the following tasks:

· Reviewing good practices in the field of protection in emergencies, gathering information in line with the Inter Agency Standing Committee policy on Protection in Humanitarian Action and gearing the information to the oPt context;

· Designing qualitative data collection tools (for key informant interviews and focus group discussions) to evaluate UNRWA’s protection interventions, ensuring gender-sensitive, safe and ethical data collection processes;

· Collecting data - conducting interviews and focus group discussions with UNRWA beneficiaries, UNRWA staff and external stakeholders in Amman, Gaza and West Bank field offices;

· Providing technical inputs to the evaluation team on protection-related matters, drafting briefing notes for internal dissemination;

· Drafting relevant sections of the evaluation report, generating and articulating findings, lessons learned and recommendations, as relevant; and

· Assisting the team leader with other relevant tasks, as appropriate.

· The protection expert will be responsible for leading the protection component of the evaluation, assessing the range of protection interventions that fall under UNRWA’s emergency response in the oPt, while evaluating the extent to which protection concerns have been adequately incorporated in UNRWA’s emergency activities at large.

• Along these lines, some of the key evaluation questions for which the protection expert will be responsible for generating:

Relevance/Appropriateness

· To what extent is the emergency response in line with the local needs of conflict-affected Palestine refugees in the oPt, considering the protracted nature of the conflict?

· How consistent is the emergency response with the overall strategy 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 taken into account appropriately? And humanitarian principles?

Effectiveness

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

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

Coverage

· To what extent were the emergency appeals able to identify the ‘additional needs’ of Palestine refugees? [i.e. those originating from the second intifada]

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

Impact

· What impact did the emergency response have in terms of ‘saving lives, alleviating suffering and maintaining human dignity and rights’?

· How has the situation of men, women, girls, boys and special needs groups changed?

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

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;

· Excellent verbal and written English communication skills, with demonstrated ability to tailor language, style and format to match audience;

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

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

COMPETENCIES

· Proven knowledge of protection concerns in emergencies;

· Excellent organizational skills, independent and disciplined with initiative and an 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; and

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

dESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

· Good command of spoken Arabic

· Previous experience in research and/or evaluation; and

· Proven understanding of the protection issues faced by Palestine refugees.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The incumbent will be required to reside in the Field of assignment and to travel in the Agency’s area of operations in the Middle East, as and when required.

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

· The consultant will be based in Amman**;**

· The duration is expected for 40 working days to start as soon as possible;

· 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 “**Protection Expert**” in the subject line of the message. The deadline for the submission of applications is 28 February 2017.**

UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from qualified women. Only those applicants shortlisted for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking 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 “**Protection Expert**” in the subject line of the message. The deadline for the submission of applications is 28 February 2017.**

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